Number One Protector
by adfic
Summary: The final battle against Yhwach went a little different, revealed a bit more and left Ichigo with a choice. To continue living on a broken world in a broken system, pretending its not. Or go back in time and change the whole damn thing. Time Travel fic.
1. Bleach The Future

**I do not own anything from Bleach**

 **Author's Note is at the end.**

* * *

The world was ending. Soul society was being consumed in darkness. Torn apart cell by cell, atom by atom and consumed into one final form. Yhwach. But it wasn't over just yet.

Tensa Zangetsu was still whole so Ichigo still had a shot at defeating Yhwach. But there wasn't enough time for him to use his bankai. So instead Ichigo had to try and make more time the only way he knew how.

With a Getsuga Tensho.

Once again Ichigo cursed the fact that he never tried to learn any kido or other Shinigami techniques. So just like every other time this was going to have to be enough.

Ichigo flash stepped towards Yhwach with all the speed he could muster.

All he needed was one hit, just a small lull in combat to activate his bankai's ability. It didn't matter if Yhwach healed himself afterwards or even rewrote the future. The time it would take him to do so would be enough.

Damnit, why did he believe that just one Getsuga would have been enough to permanently defeat Yhwach? How did Aizen fall for it? Or was it just another part of his plan?

For once Ichigo really wouldn't mind if that was the case.

"Useless!"

Once more Yhwach's power over the future proved too much to handle with only brute force. An invisible force slammed against Tensa Zangetsu with enough power to crack it even further and break off several small parts. Ichigo let go of his zanpakuto just in time before his arm was bent to far back. A broken arm was the last thing he needed.

'Shit!' Somewhat predictably a full frontal attack had failed. But it also proved to Ichigo that he still had a very real chance of winning this. Tensa Zangetsu didn't break only cracked. So even the power to alter the future couldn't destroy his bankai anymore. Still, even though Yhwach's powers were having less, effect the damage remained and Ichigo wasn't sure if Tensa Zangetsu could take another hit.

Quickly shifting direction mid shunpo. Ichigo moved back to where his zanpakuto was now imbedded in the rubble.

Getsuga from range was the only remaining option now. If he could grab Tensa Zangetsu, move a bit further back and then create a clearing with as big a Getsuga as he could manage, he might still have enough time before Yhwach attacked again. The increasingly more cynical part of his mind however reminded him that Yhwach was well past the point of waiting around and monologuing.

The sudden pillar of darkness erupting in front of him proved as much.

Turning around to try and dodge the attack proved in vane when Ichigo felt the darkness grab a hold of his back and start to invade his body, tearing at every fiber of his being, to consume him whole.

"Gah!"

So close, Tensa Zangetsu was there tantalizingly close but impossible to get to. Ichigo tried to move his hands closer but they wouldn't move, melted along with the rest of his body together with Yhwach's power. With his one remaining free eye Ichigo could see the barrier hanging around the Seireitei being swallowed at a terrifying rate. Slowly casting the entire Seireitei in darkness.

"This is the end, Ichigo. There is no one left capable of stopping me. All your opportunities have shattered in front of you."

As the last word left his mouth the sound of silver breaking could be heard from behind Yhwach. Ichigo looked on in shocked silence at the remnants of a silver arrow, a reishi bow aimed at Yhwach's back and an equally shocked Ishida gazing back at him.

"Did you truly believe that I wouldn't see your betrayal?"

Yhwach turned around to face Ishida, his black incorporeal form shrinking again to its normal size.

"Or did you believe that just because still silver can block my powers when mixed with my blood its mere existence would be enough to prevent me from seeing it within my future?"

Ishida broke from his trance jumping up as high as he could and aiming his bow at Yhwach while collecting a massive amount of reishi at the end of it.

"I am A the almighty."

The black on Yhwach's skin bled away, coalescing inside his body, revealing Yhwach in his human appearance except for the darkness still covering his upper face, blending in seamlessly with his hair

"Licht Regen!"

"And you are nothing but an investment I've come to collect."

Darkness swirled around Yhwach, idly protecting him against the first volley of arrows before shooting through the rest of them. Seemingly not meeting any resistance.

Ishida moved to the side. Climbing higher up all the while, never giving up on his attack as a rain of blue arrows continued to fall.

"My own power trying to fight against me, how ridiculous."

Ishida suddenly lost all control of his reiatsu, his bow broke apart and the rain of arrows stopped. His entire body felt clogged as if his reiatsu had taken on an actual physical form. Cementing itself inside of his body and preventing him from using it or moving altogether. But something did move, going upwards and rising through his throat looking for escape. Ishida couldn't hold it in even if he wanted to.

Darkness spewed from his mouth, enveloping his entire body in the substance. The clogging feeling was much worse now. His entire body, inside and out, felt like a heavy weight completely out of his control. Ishida was left as an observer in his own body, watching events unfold before him. Powerless as his body moved on its own.

"There is no point in resisting for you have nothing left to resist with."

A large grin sprouted on Yhwach's face.

"It seems that you finally understand that as well, Ichigo Kurosaki."

Ichigo hadn't moved from his spot but he was no longer entangled with Yhwach's darkness. A group of blue arrows were scattered all around him. His head was pointed downwards, hair casting a shadow over his eyes.

"You understand my power better than any other still alive."

Yhwach started walking towards Ichigo. The darkness all around them settling down again. All eyes were on Ichigo.

"Ishida thought that I wouldn't notice him making a few arrows from a mixture of reishi and my own reiatsu. He thought I wouldn't notice those arrows being shot at the darkness coiling around you in order to loosen my hold so you could break free and reach your zanpakuto."

Yhwach stopped right in front of Ichigo. Staring down at him triumphantly.

"But you know better. You know there is nothing I can't see. You know that I would never allow you to reach your zanpakuto so you chose to do nothing. Despair has finally claimed you."

"Interesting."

Yhwach released a wet cough in surprise at the all too familiar voice. A little blood flying from his mouth.

"Kurosaki Ichigo's bankai must truly be terrifying."

A quick glance around showed Aizen standing in front of him, fully healed without a single scratch or drop of blood marring him, with Kyoka Suigetsu piercing his heart and Ichigo standing further away. With his bankai in hand.

No, he was too close to fail now.

"Bakudo #99: Part 2. Bankin"

From Aizen's outstretched hand black fabric erupts completely mummifying Yhwach along with Kyoka Suigetsu in an instant.

"Bakudo #75: Gochutekkan"

Light erupted from the sky, shortly giving way to 50 large, thick black iron pillars falling down, creating a circular walled off area around Aizen and Yhwach.

Jumping in the air over the wall of pillars surrounding them Aizen points his hand forward creating and instantly firing a wave of black swords piercing Yhwach just as darkness started leaking from the black fabric. The sealing kido that the blades were made off proved strong enough to prevent the darkness from leaking further.

"Bakudo #79: Kuyo Shibari"

From the point where Aizen landed on the ground outside of Yhwach's entrapment, an enormous black hole instantly formed on the ground for as far as anyone could see.

While a large black cylinder, even higher than the previous pillars, starts forming in the sky above Yhwach. Aizen's patented smirk started dropping down into a frown.

A stunned Ichigo, both mentally and physically, suddenly jerked in surprise when the kido beneath him suddenly gave way. Giving him a small patch of land where he could move.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, I'm afraid I must ask you to use your bankai now."

Before Aizen could even finish his sentence Ichigo had already raised Tensa Zangetsu high in the air. Pointing it at the sky and Ichigo himself staring at the blade.

"Move forward and never stop!"

Ichigo's reiatsu sore into the sky forming a blue column around him. Tensa Zangetsu shimmered, losing its physical form and slowly melting. The white part of the blade moved along Ichigo's arms to his torso and legs automatically forming flame like markings.

A muted scream of rage could be heard from within Yhwach's prison before it was silenced when the last part of the Bankin kido slammed into him. The cylinder fitted perfectly inside the previous pillar formation but towering over them at twice there height.

Aizen payed no attention to it, focusing intently on Ichigo instead.

The only part left of Tensa Zangetsu was the small black blade in the middle, slowly melting away down the hilt and dripping on Ichigo's face. Creating two long lines running downwards from his forehead.

"Break all limits! Tensa Zangetsu!"

 **XXX**

The column of blue reiatsu previously swirling around him seemingly solidified into a large blue cylinder moving so far up into the sky even Aizen couldn't see nor sense where it ended.

Sensing was rather impossible anyway since Aizen couldn't sense anything coming from the pillar.

Aizen's smirk returned full force as he turned around to look at the now less impressive Yhwach ready to break out of his temporary seal.

Which he did, darkness exploding into the sky and taking the entire seal with it. The unmoving patches of darkness littering the entire Seireitei started to churn awake. Looking for the object of Yhwach's rage. When the explosion of darkness settled down again it revealed Yhwach standing inside completely unharmed looking strangely calm and relaxed.

With a completely emotionless face Yhwach asked.

"Why did you let Ichigo use his bankai."

Aizen was mildly surprised to hear the small sign of resignation in Yhwach's voice.

"From what you've said and from what I've gathered down here, you destroyed Ichigo's bankai the moment he activated it." Aizen dropped the Bakudo #79 still lying active on the ground knowing that it wouldn't slow down Yhwach in the least.

"After Ichigo came here you immediately tried to destroy it again. I know Ichigo Kurosaki is not to be underestimated. But you're fear of his bankai, despite having more power than even the late soul king, was hard to miss."

Aizen's smirk grew further, looking absently at his surroundings as he continued. "My illusions proved my suspicions to be correct."

"I saw your blade for the first time mere minutes ago. I broke it and after I died I was released from its effects."

Most of Yhwach's face was obscured by darkness but the tightening of his lips and the almost audible grinding of teeth clearly showed his rage at having his Almighty powers fooled. The fact that he couldn't come up with the right answers and had to ask Aizen for the answers instead only fueled his rage.

"I waited until I died before changing my future to make absolutely sure I was released from your Kyoka Suigetsu. I absorbed you before reforming my body so you couldn't use it again. So when did you use it!" Yhwach was screaming at the end, darkness writhing all around them and slamming down any buildings still left to release some of his rage. But never coming even close to Aizen.

He seemed very sure that the Aizen standing in front of him was just another illusion and that by attacking the surrounding areas he might connect with the real one.

Such a futile tactic.

Still Aizen was more than pleased enough to indulge him.

"It has been some time since the Hogyoku decided that I am above using or even having a zanpakuto. Whether from a Shinigami or an arrancar a zanpakuto is in essence nothing but a part of our soul and a seal of our power. The Hogyoku destroyed my zanpakuto and merged our power and soul back into one. Much like what you did with your investments, only better."

The sudden rise in spiritual pressure showed that Yhwach was not amused by the last part.

Riling up Yhwach was more fun than he thought it would be.

"Let me explain so you understand."

Another spike in spiritual pressure.

"You gave away some of your power, let it grow in a certain way via your Schrifts within another person and then take that power back again whenever you please. But-"

Aizen raised a mocking finger at Yhwach.

"- only the raw power. Once you take it any special ability the schrift had is gone."

The pressure lowered again and if Yhwach had eyes to show, they would have widened slightly.

"The Hogyoku did a much better job. Giving me everything my zanpakuto had to give. Its raw power, its ability to cast perfect illusions on anything that sees its reiatsu and its personality."

Yhwach looked in a seemingly random direction at nothing but rubble. Except both of them new it was where Muken was located deep underground.

"Back in Muken when I commented on the pathetic state you were in, you released your reiatsu to show me that you weren't sealed at all, simply limited. That's when you trapped me in your illusions and slightly warped my perception of time to make sure I wouldn't have enough time left to take Ichigo Kurosaki with me, didn't you?"

Another smirk was his answer.

"But I died. I let my body fall apart to make absolutely sure."

Smirk.

"I need my reiatsu to be present in your brain in order to alter your senses, the eyes work perfectly towards that end but trying to absorb me and my reiatsu and then reviving your entire body from that reiatsu works just as well."

Yhwach looked down at the ground.

"I see"

"It was unavoidable however. Even if you hadn't tried to absorb me I would still have easily broken free and your darkness is present all around us, its eyes seeing everything that's happening. You would have been under my control only slightly later."

"Changing the way you will die is not the same as being in control."

Aizen raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Ichigo? Killing me? Please."

With a snort Aizen narrowed his eyes at Yhwach, throwing his own words back at him.

"Don't project your own anxiety's onto me."

Yhwach's power sored to new heights blasting all the darkness in the surrounding area into the air.

Aizen continued unhindered.

"This battle is pointless. You can't kill me and I can't keep you dead. You can't seal me and I can't seal you. We can damage each other and subsequently heal ourselves again. We both have nearly unlimited reiatsu and the means to constantly acquire more. We can counter each other and fight each other forever and because of that you can't push me far enough to force me to evolve further."

Aizen turned his head to look high into the sky where the column of blue, solid reiatsu was still visible.

"But we both believe Ichigo can defeat you which puts him on a higher level than either of us. So after he does kill you, he can do what I have always planned for him to do and push me further to reach an even higher level of existence."

The darkness encroached closer and closer towards Aizen, eyes on all sides staring him down. Absently Aizen created another mimic of Kyoka Suigetsu from his reiatsu in his right hand and prepared for Yhwach's last desperate attempt to absorb him.

It was the only option left for him, to level the entire area around them with his darkness, while they were talking, and absorbing anything it came into contact with. Leaving his current position the only spot where the real Aizen could be, proving him not to be an illusion. If Yhwach could absorb him and take the Hogyoku than he could still win. A solid but predictable plan.

Of course Yhwach didn't know the range of his illusions and so Aizen simply had to wait, leaning against the sekkiseki stone wall on the outer rim of the Seireitei, staring at the unending pillar of blue light wondering how strong Ichigo would become and how far he himself would go as a result.

The sudden appearance of Yhwach standing right in front of him broke him out of his musings.

Aizen straightened, frowning at Yhwach. Why was he here? More importantly how was he able to look straight at him?

"When I told you, you had simply changed the way you would die, I wasn't referring to Ichigo."

A blue bow and arrow formed behind Aizen's head. A blackened individual holding them mere inches from its target.

Aizen's reiatsu exploded around him for a moment, strong enough to push the bow upwards and send the arrow flying far overhead.

Turning around and pointing the palm of his hand towards a wild eyed Ishida, Aizen spoke.

"Sokatsui"

Blue energy shot forward enveloping Ishida in blue light before hitting the wall behind him. Following the path of least resistance along the length of the sekkiseki stone wall. When the energy dissipated it revealed Aizen and Yhwach looking at one another, with what was left of Ishida pushed inside of the now cracked and trashed sekkiseki wall.

"You left Ishida alive and only took control of his reiatsu and body instead of absorbing him because you knew he has never been subjected to my illusions. A clever premise for a plan but poorly executed."

Yet Yhwach looked completely calm.

"What I mend back then was that you had lost the chance to be absorbed and unified by A: The Almighty."

Yhwach raised his hand pointing it in Aizen's direction but Aizen could tell that it wasn't pointing specifically at him.

"But instead you will be destroyed and forgotten by A: The Antithesis."

The moment Aizen registered the word antithesis its relevance and meaning in this situation gave him a clear picture of what was about to happen. At the same time a plan had instantly sprung to mind.

First he would use Bakudo #1: Sai in order to quickly pull away Yhwach's hand far enough so it would no longer be pointing at Ishida. Bakudo #79: Kuyō Shibari would follow the moment Yhwach's hand was out of place and encase the floor in another black hole leaving everything around them paralyzed. That would give him enough time to turn around and use Hado #54: Haien on Ishida to absolutely ensure that the boy's body and reiatsu were burned away from existence. If Yhwach hadn't broken free from his stasis by then he would use Sentan Hakuja, swirling a long length of cloth around the entire area where Ishida had once been and the part of the sekkiseki wall that was hit by his previous attack. Transporting any possible piece of Ishida that might still remain away to a far off location outside of the Seireitei.

But the moment had passed and Aizen suddenly found himself falling to the ground. Blood already pooling beneath him, the hogyoku firmly grasped in Yhwach's hand and Aizen's head, neck, left shoulder and a small remaining part of his left upper arm fell to the ground.

The last thing Aizen saw was Yhwach staring down at him in triumph while raising his right hand, darkness forming around him ready to strike down and destroy what little was left of Aizen before he could start healing.

And a previously unending blue pillar suddenly vanishing.

 **XXX**

Yhwach released a spike of darkness, destroying what was left of Aizen Sosuke. He didn't need to turn around to know that Ichigo Kurosaki was back.

The sudden absence of the hogyoku, previously in his hand, and his senses telling him it was suddenly a few feet behind him told him more than enough.

He hadn't felt, seen or in any way noticed Ichigo move close enough to snatch it away from him.

"So you have returned Kurosaki Ichigo. If you don't do something about the hogyoku, Aizen will revive himself again." Yhwach turned around.

Ichigo hadn't changed much in appearance. His zanpakuto was gone, white flame like patterns marked every visible part of his body and most likely moved further beneath his clothing. His clothing was still the same as before only this time it looked brand new once more. His hair was swept back with 2 familiar horns jutting out from the sides. His face bore 2 black lines moving from his hairline over his eyes and down to below his chin. 2 half lidded red eyes staring back at him uninterestingly.

Ichigo looked down at the hogyoku resting in his hand. The harbinger of so much pain and misery second only to Yhwach himself. But he couldn't destroy it.

Pushing his reiatsu inside of it Ichigo felt the hogyoku respond, grabbing onto his reiatsu and making a connection with his mind, expressing itself the only way it knew how by using and reacting to its wielders emotions. Ichigo hadn't subjugated the hogyoku to his will, there was no need. Its only purpose and directive was to keep its wielder alive and to transcend him past any obstacle that proved insurmountable. The hogyoku understood Ichigo's reiatsu and the nature of his bankai and so it switched wielder willingly.

Yhwach didn't seem to notice, still looking in between the hogyoku and Ichigo with something akin to worry. Ichigo was surprised with how easy it suddenly was to read the man's emotions.

A sudden rush of sadness overcame him as his eyes strayed over the spot where the remains of Aizen had once been. A sadness that was not his own. Aizen was the first person to connect with the hogyoku and for a long time at that. Ichigo could understand the hogyoku's feelings and through it he gained a new insight in Aizen's mind. A man driven towards a single goal, to transcend to new heights passed the soul king, passed reason itself, all so he could remove the current flawed system and initiate his own. Ready to sacrifice anyone of the current generation all so future ones could live better lives. Or at least better in Aizen's point of view.

All the while ignoring his own feelings of loneliness and solitude that transcended to new heights along with him.

It made him wonder what Yhwach's end game really was.

"What were you hoping to achieve here?"

Yhwach focused on Ichigo and it disturbed Ichigo how solemn and resigned the man looked and felt.

"To bring all of existence back together. All worlds, life and death, to fuse it all together and end this divided state we now live in. This constant cycle of repetition."

So even Yhwach wasn't just the conqueror or power hungry man Ichigo thought him to be?

"So everything you did wasn't just for power and control?"

Ichigo really wanted Yhwach to just scream 'Of course it was!' and attack him again, all the while monologuing about how everything he did was futile because he had already seen it.

Just like his last battle with Aizen, evolving past your opponent and being able to understand their motivations on a far deeper level really made fighting them all the more difficult and victory all the more hollow.

"Of course it was."

Ichigo reeled back in shock for a moment.

"Existence is broken and the soul king is the only being powerful enough to keep the pieces together and prevent them from falling apart. In order to take those pieces and force them back together as one, I needed more power. Simply killing and absorbing the soul king would not be enough. So I invested my power in others and let it grow, I searched for all the other parts of the soul king and let them grow, I waited a 1000 years to let my own power grow as high as it would go and I followed every lead that could possibly give me more power."

Yhwach was monologuing again, but it wasn't the one Ichigo was hoping for.

"Linking arrancar with my power, creating the medallions to steal a shinigami's bankai, the special war potentials. I took every step I could no matter how long or how difficult it made the journey, no matter how much it increased my chances of failure all in order to reach my goal."

Yhwach laughed, the sound sounding more desperate and tired than Ichigo wanted it to be.

"Did you truly believe I did all of this for power? Just for the sake of having it? To sit on a throne and watch the world spin for all eternity? How absurd!"

"I could have killed you all any number of times! There wasn't a single moment, not a single battle where I couldn't have laid down a decisive victory! But I didn't, instead I maneuvered the right people to the right places forcing them to become stronger or die and give me everything back they had to give!"

Yhwach was panting by the end of it. Starring down at the ground below him.

"But it seems that I took one risk to many. I needed you to release your bankai so you were at your strongest before I took your power. I waited until your bankai was repaired so you would come after me and I could absorb your power once more. Aizen's illusions affecting even my visions of the future was something I hadn't planned to happen."

"So you didn't see what my bankai's ability is?"

"I can't see the future past the point where you emerge again after calling out your bankai's ability."

Ichigo pocketed the hogyoku in his shihakusho.

"My bankai has the ability to identify and break any limit. When you first broke it with your The Almighty it assessed your power and increased its own. That's why the second time you tried to destroy it, it only cracked and that was only because you increased your power with my own in the meantime. But after I stabbed you and killed you the first time, it assessed your power as a whole. I only needed a little time afterwards to activate its ability and merge with Tensa Zangetsu to increase my own power to break past the limit your current level has. None of your abilities, including your The Almighty, have any effect on me.

"I see, then whether I win or lose this will be a short battle."

Ichigo spun around bringing his arm up and flicking his wrist at the reishi bow and arrow aimed at him.

An invisible force struck Ishida pulverizing his bow and arrow and knocking him hard enough that he immediately passed out.

Spinning around to face Yhwach again, Ichigo mimicked his earlier move to obliterate the dark stream of energy coming is way.

Yhwach appeared beside Ishida who hadn't even begun to fall down yet and struck forward with his hand, dark reiatsu swirling around it, at Ishida's chest.

His hand thumped lamely against Ishida's chest, the energy around it dissipating harmlessly before sliding down to the ground.

Ichigo was standing in front of Yhwach, arm still in a chopping motion where it had cut through Yhwach's wrist.

"Even if Ishida didn't have his Antithesis power I would never allow you to hurt him." Catching Ishida mid fall and laying him down gently. Ichigo pulsed his reiatsu through Ishida's body, disintegrating the darkness previously permeating his body.

Yhwach moved back as fast as he could all the while discharging a massive wave of black reiatsu at Ichigo.

"So you were still able to observe your surroundings while mid transformation? Your senses must have improved drastically."

The black reiatsu dissipated around Ichigo as he charged straight through coming out of the other end with a red cero fully charged between his horns, ready and waiting to be released.

"Cero"

As soon as the attack discharged Ichigo was on the move again. Appearing at Ishida's side once more and stepping on Yhwach's cut off hand just as black reiatsu spikes were being generated from it, destroying it instantly.

"Auswählen!"

It was becoming clear to Ichigo that Yhwach was using Ishida as his target in order to move Ichigo away from him. Still none of Yhwach's attacks had any chance of affecting him nor were they fast enough to outmaneuver him. If this kept up it would be a very short battle indeed.

Ichigo didn't move instead raising a column of his own reiatsu into the air to combat the light falling down from the heavens.

Yhwach blasted forward standing just outside of Ichigo's invisible pillar of reiatsu. Hand outstretched holding a medallion.

Ah, so that was his end game.

"Zanka no Tachi-"

The temperature in the Seireitei jumped and even though Ichigo had no idea how powerful the old man's bankai really was he chose not to chance it and hold nothing back. So he pointed a finger straight at the medallion.

"Cero-"

Black energy was coalescing in front of the medallion.

"-Kita: Ten-"

Ichigo could feel the heat gushing out of the medallion and running over his outstretched arm. Burning him even in his current state.

"-Oscuras"

The heat disappeared along with the light coming from the sky and everything within Ichigo's line of sight turned black.

As the energy started to dissipate it revealed absolutely nothing in its wake.

Rubble, the sekkiseki wall, any buildings left standing, even the ground itself was gone leaving a massive empty crater in its wake.

Moving forward Ichigo found Yhwach lying at the end of the crater having lost everything below his midriff along with his left hand and right arm gazing at the sky in the direction of the once Royal Palace.

The earth started to shake and some of the rubble outside of the crater started drifting upwards.

Ichigo sat down next to Yhwach placing his right hand on his forehead. And the shaking stopped.

Yhwach turned his eyes to Ichigo, the previous black hiding them was gone now showing Yhwach's real eyes with multiple irises, empty except for the obvious question.

"If you die now all the worlds will collapse, so I'm stabilizing your reiatsu with my own for now. Besides I don't want you to use your powers and heal yourself again."

Reaching into his shihakusho Ichigo retrieve the hogyoku.

"I was thinking about making this the new soul king. It's alive, powerful enough and if Urahara is right, undestroyable as well. It would make for a perfect substitute."

"It seems that is all we can do now. Taping this broken world back together and hoping we are never reminded again of how fragile it really is."

Yhwach's voice was quiet. His once strong, commanding tone that demanded attention and respect nowhere to be found.

Ichigo heaved a deep and heavy sigh.

"Why couldn't you be a simple power hungry villain?"

"If I was just another powerful Quincy wanting nothing more than power and possession I would have died a 1000 years ago. Men like me and Aizen gain power for a purpose greater than ourselves. It allows us to throw away any limitations and prevents us from ever accepting any compromise. Pushing us forward until we achieve our goal or die trying."

Yhwach turned his head to take a better look at Ichigo.

"Just like you."

Silence fell and Ichigo busied himself with focusing on Yhwach's body instead of thinking on other unpleasant things. His vital signs were slowly dropping, his mind blacking out. Yhwach was almost dead.

"I wonder. If you had fought to protect the world. If you had fought to protect the living and the dead. The hollow and the quincy with the same resolve and determination as you did for those chosen phew. Could you have found a better way?"

Yhwach closed his eyes.

And so it was just Ichigo who was left.

'Maybe I could have.'

The quincy were once again a dying race, hollows would continue to feed on others, arrancars would never be accepted as anything but another hollow, the majority of the people in Soul Society continued to live in poverty and sometimes humans would find themselves assaulted by something they couldn't see and die as a result.

Ichigo raised the hogyoku to Yhwach's body wondering how he was even going to make it the next soul king in the first place.

'Maybe I can.'

That wasn't his thought.

Ichigo looked at the hogyoku its ethereal light showing Ichigo the perfect opportunity to make his deepest wishes come true. A fantasy world where all the world's problems could be solved by him. And the silent promise that if Ichigo wished it the hogyoku would give him the chance.

'I can.'

To go back in time.

To march forward one more time from the very start. To create his own path forward and push back any obstacle in his way. To find a new solution, a better one, no matter how hard it may be. To save the world and everyone in it.

Funny how he had once told Rukia, at the very beginning, that he would never accept this kind of commitment.

'I will.'

The hogyoku flashed, its light enveloping Ichigo and leaving him numb and blind. Feeling slowly returned and the light felt less blinding. The hogyoku felt softer and more malleable than before. Larger, covering his entire body. Why was he lying down?

"GOOD MORNING-"

Reflexes took over.

"ICHI- Gah!"

Isshin Kurosaki was lying on the floor of Ichigo's bedroom. The wood around him cracked and splintered from the force of the punch he just received.

"Quite painful my son, it seems I have nothing left to teach you!" Isshin wheezed out.

Ichigo was standing over his father. Eyes wide and mouth slightly agape with shock.

"I'm back." He muttered. Looking down at his clothing and back at his bed.

"Back? Back from where?"

Overdramatic gasp.

"MASAKI! Our son is sneaking out to late night parties after all!" Isshin bolted out of the room in search of Masaki's poster to tell her all about his delusional thoughts.

Ichigo hadn't even taken notice.

"I'm back" He said it louder this time. Waiting for anyone to challenge his statement.

No one did.

Ichigo's mind caught up with him before his smile could fully form. Pushing it back down to his trustworthy scowl.

"What parties! And what do you mean 'after all'?!"

* * *

 **I wanted to start this fic with a retelling of the end fight of Bleach because I hated how rushed and cliche it was.**

 **I hope my version is a little bit better than the original, if not its only the explanation of how Ichigo goes back in the past so if you still want to give my fic a try you can continue reading from chapter 2 where Ichigo starts in the past.**

 **Please let me know what you think about the story, writing style, grammar and so on. I really like writing and want to keep improving so any reviews would be greatly appreciated.**

 **Thanks for giving my story a try and I hope you had a good read so far.**

 **See ya!**


	2. Time Changes

**I do not own anything from Bleach**

 **Author's Note is at the end**

* * *

Breakfast was nice. Eating along with his family from one of Yuzu's patented meals. Talking about mundane things like how a truck had driven through one of the walls of their home and no one had woken up, giving it a full 2 minutes thought before moving on to more important matters like being late for school.

It was the quiet preparation for another day. A moment where they would sit down together, well rested and without any of the stress from the previous day or the coming one.

His father the same fool as always, Yuzu still as innocent and sweet as ever and Karin still exasperated about the whole traditional family weirdness.

Ichigo had to conclude that yes, breakfast really was nice.

"Brother you need to get ready for school or you'll be late."

But the time had passed.

"I'll be fine Yuzu, Mizuiro already knows, he'll warn teach that I'll be a bit late."

At least that's what he did the first time.

Ichigo got up from the table and started moving towards the stairs to his room. Hurrying his pace a bit to hopefully escape another one of his father's incoming tantrums when he heard him rushing back inside the house.

"Ichigo, Mizuiro just passed by so hurry up! I will not have a delinquent son who abandons his friends to move to school alone and unguarded!"

"It's okay daddy."

Yuzu said from within the door opening ready to leave for school.

"Brother said Mizuiro already knows."

"Huh? But he just asked me to…"

Overdramatic gasp.

"Oh Masaki, our son is plotting with his friends to make his father look stupid!"

With Isshin now busy ranting to a poster again, Karin decided she was well above her usual dosage of Isshin weirdness and gently dragged Yuzu with her outside to school.

"Bye brother." "Bye Ichi."

Ichigo stopped just in front of his bedroom door.

"See you tonight."

Ichigo quickly moved inside before his dad could focus on the only remaining living thing to annoy. Once inside his mind focused once more on the unreal situation he was in.

This was it, his one chance to make everything right, to fix every problem. He knew what had to happen, what he had to make happen, but he had little to no idea yet how to actually do any of it. He had to outsmart Aizen, outmaneuver Yhwach and achieve what even the soul king himself couldn't.

And he had no time to prepare whatsoever. Because his shinigami life started today.

Ichigo absently grabbed his backpack. He couldn't postpone this, too much had to happen in too little time. So he was going to have to wing it the first day and hopefully come up with a plan for everyday afterwards. The day had barely started and he was already feeling the budding stress that was only going to increase with time.

He was really missing the calm, confident and collected frame of mind he had whenever he became a transcended being. But that evidently hadn't carried over back in time.

Ichigo opened the door.

"ICHI-"

Reflexes.

"Gah!"

Whatever might happen though, he was absolutely not putting up with his dad's random surprise attacks again. Hit him hard and fast until his human body was unable to attack again or until he got the hint that he really didn't have anything left to teach him without revealing himself a shinigami.

As it was Isshin was once again lying in an indented floor, a few inches deeper than the same indent only slightly further in Ichigo's room.

"Considerably painful my son, it seems I have nothing left to teach you!" Isshin wheezed out once more.

"You already said that this morning, you idiot!" Ichigo was under no illusion that his father had gotten the hint just yet. Next time he was going through the floor.

Isshin jumped up, all previous injuries forgotten, and pointed an accusing finger too close to Ichigo's face.

"This morning you weren't a school skipping delinquent! Now get a move on and go to school!"

"Fine!"

Storming down the stairs Ichigo stopped when he reached the front door.

"Ah that's right, I have a group project with Mizuiro and Keigo I have to work on tonight, so I'll be home late."

"Nonsense! Invite them over here! The curfew must not be broken!"

Ichigo knew that despite the words, his dad was okay with it, maybe.

Freed from his dad's antics, Ichigo moved towards the school, ignoring the muffled scream of "Masaki!" coming from inside his home.

Honestly he couldn't remember his dad being this hard to deal with on this day. Come to think of it, wasn't he supposed to stay home and help fix the hole first before leaving for school?

Ichigo stopped momentarily at the corner of his street, looking back at his home in the distance.

Did his father already know something was off with him? Obviously his memory wasn't altered like those of his sisters, so he knew what had really happened with the hollow and Ichigo's new shinigami status. Even if he couldn't see the hollow nor feel Ichigo's reiatsu, Urahara had probably already informed him of everything.

Ichigo continued moving on towards school.

So no, he probably thought it was Ichigo's confusion over the whole situation or his sudden increase in powers that caused him to act a little weird.

Weird being him enjoying breakfast more than he should and hitting his dad faster and harder than usual.

Still nothing to bad there. He could meet Rukia a few hours earlier and he had the entire night free for anything else he had left to do.

So far so good.

 **XXX**

Ichigo arrived at school just as the school bell started ringing.

And he was exhausted.

While a quick once over of his human body showed that he was back in his 15 year old body. What Ichigo really wanted to know was if any of his shinigami and hollow powers had followed over along with his mind. Most likely they hadn't.

While a soul and body were very different from one another, Ichigo had noticed that during his training as a shinigami his human body had reacted and grown stronger almost automatically whenever he moved back into it. The biggest difference would be the increase in endurance.

Something he clearly no longer had. While normally sprinting all the way to school was no trouble and almost a regular occurrence when he became a substitute shinigami, now it was a death race. As it should be for any normal human.

He'd find out soon anyway when Rukia punched him in the face to eject his soul.

Having rested enough Ichigo started walking inside the school not even pretending to be hurried.

The sprinting was an on the spot idea to test his body not to get to school on time. A few re-reads of the material and he'd be set for the whole year and most of the one after that.

Absently Ichigo rubbed his abused biceps. He hadn't noticed back then, probably adrenaline or his mind still thinking out of experience that pushing a grown man through several inches of wood was a normal ting to do, but he really pushed his arm muscles to and likely over their limit. It showed that reflexes, muscle memory and technique would probably be mostly the same as before. His muscles would just have to play catch up for a little bit.

Arriving to class Ichigo heard a very familiar voice.

"- Kuchiki pleased to meet you."

And so it started.

Ichigo moved inside uncaring of all the eyes that were on him, he turned to his teacher, who probably had given his name at some point. Ichigo made a quick mental note 'remember names better'.

"Truck drove into our home, no-ones hurt."

A sideways glance at Rukia.

"Yo, I'm Kurosaki Ichigo nice to meet you."

Rukia looked vaguely surprised at the polite greeting before extending her hand to him.

"I'm Kuchiki Rukia nice to meet you to Kurosaki-kun."

Ichigo went through the motions of moving to shake her hand, stopping and inspecting the handwriting on it and then moving on with the hand shake.

With the greeting done and Rukia's message received once more, Ichigo moved to his seat behind Mizuiro and took notice of Rukia following him in order to sit next to him.

Ichigo sat down, ignoring the more surprised attention he was getting from the rest of the class, and using the hour left for him to plan out his following conversation with Rukia and everything there-after.

Only a few moments later Ichigo leaned forward towards Mizuiro, who was staring at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey Mizuiro can you invite Keigo over at your place and if anyone asks tell them the three of us are working on a school project?"

Mizuiro's curiosity gave way to a frown.

"Sure Ichigo, but why?"

"The truck that drove into our home was from one of the gangs that won't leave me alone. Payback for the last time I kicked their asses I think. So I'm going to make sure they don't try and threaten my family again like that."

Mizuiro simply nodded. Ichigo was clearly upset about his family being endangered because of him.

"You going to be ok? You could ask Sado-san to go with you."

"No this is something I have to do on my own. But don't worry I know them, they're not so tough if they're not smashing trucks through houses."

Mizuiro nodded, Ichigo could take care of himself.

 **XXX**

"Why are we here?"

Rukia asked, already understanding Ichigo's need for some answers and choosing to get the conversation going.

"Because this place is empty and quiet. So tell me why are you still around here, isn't your job done?"

Rukia absently held her left elbow with her other hand in a sign of discomfort no longer meeting Ichigo's gaze, not liking the reminder that she was powerless.

"There are more hollows than just the one from last night. And I can't go back to the Soul Society. Only shinigami can."

Rukia was acting more polite than before, probably because Ichigo had introduced himself better and acted differently from last time. It would suit him fine for now but remembering the Rukia he had befriended in another time Ichigo felt slightly sad that Rukia was acting so professional and indirect towards him.

He'd fix that later of course once her drawings got involved he'd be able to break the ice nicely.

On the outside Ichigo merely raised a brow.

"So what? You're no longer a shinigami after you gave me your powers? Weren't you going to give me half of your power?"

Rukia looked offended at that, frowning.

"I did but you somehow took all of my power instead."

Ichigo leaned himself against one of the buildings surrounding them looking back at Rukia relaxed.

"So? You gave me your powers to defeat that hollow and save my family and I'm grateful for that."

Ichigo himself was rather surprised by how genuinely grateful he felt after saying that aloud. He had never really thanked Rukia properly for that before.

"But you can take them back now, I don't really need them anymore. So let's just do the same as you did last night but in reverse."

Rukia frowned at him moving closer to stand in front of him.

"I can't. I'm stuck in this artificial body until my power grows back. I can't leave before it does so we can't use the same method again. And until my power does grow back you'll have to take over my Shinigami duties!"

Rukia was enthusiastically pointing at him at the end of her statement and soon started debriefing him on everything he was supposed to be doing from now on.

Ichigo stopped listening only vaguely aware of Rukia moving around and talking animatedly. Can't use the same method as before? Did that mean that it was actually possible? Ichigo had only brought the idea up in the hopes that Rukia would think about it and hopefully move to Urahara to ask him, not wanting to risk getting stabbed for no reason. It would get Ichigo in touch with Urahara sooner which was something he really needed to do.

But it was possible? Come to think of it Rukia only knew that Ichigo was a human with higher than normal levels of reiatsu and reiryoku before she decided to give him her powers and back when he had lost all his powers against Aizen he regained them when she stabbed him with another sword made up of the reiatsu of other Shinigami.

It was probably more complex then, 'stab at whatever you want and give it your powers', but the idea was a very interesting one.

A sudden fist hitting him straight in the chin brought him out of his thoughts.

Ichigo's body fell forward hitting the ground and lying there unmoving, appearing unconscious or worse to the human world.

"Oi! A head's up next time would be nice!"

The other Ichigo shouted picking up his body and hoisting it over his shoulder.

"Oh, so you weren't listening after all."

Rukia's left eye was twitching. The sound of leather stretching could be heard as she continued to pull on the glove she was wearing itching to pummel Ichigo again.

"You are not hitting me with that again. There has to be a better way of getting out of my body."

Acquiring gikon would be another excuse to get to Urahara sooner.

Rukia crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes, becoming serious once more.

"There is a better way but you'll only get it if you accept all the responsibilities of becoming a shinigami. Accept that you'll-"

"I accept."

"-fight for…huh?"

Rukia had dropped out of her serious mode and into disbelief within a moment.

"I was paying attention to what you were saying before."

Not really but he got the gist of what she was trying to say if it was anything like before. Ichigo's own expression became fully serious at this moment.

"I'll defend all spirits from hollows and help all of them to reach the Soul Society safely."

Ichigo's eyes hardened for a moment taking on the same intensity as when he decided on this path mere hours ago and in another time entirely.

"I'll protect everyone and everything."

While spoken at no louder volume than simple talking. The words seemed to ingrain themselves inside of Rukia's mind. Rooting there as a simple fact of the universe. Unquestionable.

Rukia was stunned and completely confused. Ichigo had turned from annoying to protector of his family to polite back to annoying and now more serious about his duties as temporary shinigami than any real shinigami she could think off. Were all human teenagers like this nowadays?

Seeing Rukia temporarily spacing out Ichigo put his body back in front of him, started fiddling with his sword holster and slowly 'accidently' pushed himself back into his body.

Opting a fake look of surprise at seeing his arm move back inside his body, Ichigo focused on his body fully and moved back in.

That seemed to snap Rukia out of her temporary trance.

"Huh, so that's how I go back in."

Rukia sighed. Ichigo really changed his mood depending on the situation in a flash.

"Well we might as well go and get you a gikon now. There's a shop not too far away that probably sells some."

With Rukia moving forward and Ichigo following next to her, making sure to follow her and not give any indication that he knew where they were going, Ichigo decided to lay the basis of his knowledge. Just so he couldn't be caught saying something he shouldn't know yet.

"Say Rukia, if I'm going to take over your duties I'm going to have to know more about hollows, Soul Society and shinigami in general."

Rukia looked at him with a raised eyebrow. She had been wondering if Ichigo was going to ask more deeply about his new job or just go with the basis and make up whatever answers he needed to along the way like he did last night.

It seemed that if given some time and basic knowledge of his new situation Ichigo turned out to be a very inquisitive person.

 **XXX**

"Shikai and bankai are impossible for you to learn though. Not only would it take longer than you humans are alive, but since your working on my borrowed power and you don't have any shinigami powers of your own you also don't have a zanpakuto spirit to work with."

Rukia was very pleased. Ichigo seemed very interested in everything regarding his shinigami duties and was even interested in information about the Soul Society itself and its workings that didn't directly involve him. He didn't probe for any classified intel either and if he did accidently step on such a subject he quickly got the hint and asked another question. But mostly it was only standard harmless knowledge like what happened to spirits when they were sent to the Soul Society and where they would end up.

That was good, really good. Ichigo was already theoretically prepared for any hollow encounter and he had the drive and natural power necessary to slay them. Ichigo could take over her duties for the remainder of her stay here, she would get her power back by that time and when she left again she could trust Ichigo not to abuse his power and nobody would know that she had broken the law.

On the other end Ichigo was having more troubling thoughts.

His shinigami soul felt wrong.

It was bad enough that he still had his first massive, oversized zanpakuto on his back still as unwieldy and brittle as it was before. But he himself also felt heavier and more uncomfortable and that wasn't the case last time.

His body felt full, filled to the brim with reiatsu, constantly pushing and working against him every time he moved. His zanpakuto's weight had increased by several times as well making the thing even more difficult to wield.

"Ah, were here. The shops just over there."

Ichigo nodded recognizing the shop as well. He'd try to go into his inner world tonight to scope out the problem. Now came the first real hard part.

Talking with Urahara. He wasn't able to really ask or say much just yet, not with Rukia still around him. The whole meeting now was just so he could return here whenever he wanted to without anyone questioning him on how he knew the shops location. But still Urahara was a genius and Ichigo wouldn't be all that surprised if even from this small interaction Urahara would know something was up. And he couldn't know, not yet anyway.

This Urahara only knew Ichigo as Isshin's son and a boy with potentially very interesting powers. They weren't friends not even acquaintances and even when they were back in Ichigo's time, Urahara was still keeping secrets from everybody and still making plans within plans with Ichigo mostly a part of it.

Urahara was however one of the few people who wouldn't immediately dismiss the idea of time travel and if Ichigo recounted particular events of the past, Urahara would definitively believe him and take everything he says into account. But beyond that Ichigo wasn't sure. Ichigo had a goal and a plan where only the headlines were written but the rest still needed to be added. And all of that based on visions coming from a previously subjugated by Aizen Hogyoku. Urahara would be too smart to lie to and to smart not to doubt and question the accuracy of those visions. Especially since some of them were very negative or downright disastrous if they failed to work out as intended.

Ichigo had mostly felt it. The hogyoku taking hold of his mind and showing him, making him feel what Ichigo himself deeply hoped for. So intensely that Ichigo couldn't simply put it into words without making it sound naïve or cliché.

Urahara wouldn't abuse the info though. In fact he'd make the most of it and prepare for the quincy invasion and Aizen's betrayal. Just not in the way Ichigo wanted it.

For the first time Ichigo truly understood Yhwach's words. He couldn't go at this with the mentality to simply fight and defeat all his enemies like he usually did. He had a far larger goal this time and all would be for naught if he couldn't achieve it. So Ichigo would let things go the way they had to go, even if it made the journey that much more difficult.

"Ah Kuchiki-san welcome to my humble shop! I hope nothing is wrong with the gigai I gave you."

Urahara strode forward his fan carefully hiding most of his expression along with his bucket hat.

"And I see you've brought a friend with you, I'm guessing this must be our newest shinigami then?

Ichigo could only see one eye of Urahara staring quizzically at him more with the question of why he was here so soon than to ask confirmation on his status.

"I am yes, so what do you sell here Urahara-san?"

Don't show any familiarity, just treat him like any other shopkeeper.

Urahara's one eye widened and Ichigo had the troubling feeling that he wasn't surprised at Ichigo buying something but at something else. He clapped his fan shut, revealing his wide smile.

The mask was back on.

"We have everything you could ever need for all your shinigami needs."

"We only need a gikon dispenser for Ichigo."

Rukia was looking at Ichigo, who had moved further into the store to look around at all the merchandise on display.

Mostly it was just so Ichigo didn't have a panic attack in front of everyone. Had Urahara already noticed something? But he hadn't done anything yet, had he? Was there something wrong with him that he hadn't noticed yet?

Ichigo's mind jumped back to the thoughts troubling his mind a mere minute ago. Forget it, he was going into his inner world and fixing whatever was wrong the moment he was done here.

"Ah, I believe were out of those. Ururu go check out back if we still have one in stock."

"Hai."

Ururu responded from somewhere within the shop.

"All your shinigami needs huh?"

Rukia said glaring at Urahara who once again had his fan in place and was not so subtly ignoring Rukia in favor of Ichigo.

"Well Kurosaki-san? See something you like?"

Clam down, something wrong with his power wasn't anything to bad. He could just feign ignorance and let Urahara solve it if he couldn't himself. He was born with a cocktail of different powers anyway. Not his fault.

Ichigo looked up, absently noticing Rukia having another eyebrow twitch fest.

"There are a lot of things here that would have been very useful before, like the 'spirit away 2000'. But nothing I need right now. Might come back later though."

Ichigo replied as bored and uninterested as he could. Treating Urahara like any other annoying shopkeeper trying to sell overpriced goods as a 'good deal'.

Which described Urahara better than he thought it did.

"Maa, that's too bad. Be sure to hop bye every now and then, were always getting new goods."

"I found it!"

Ururu came running back with a wrapped up gikon dispenser and Ichigo hoped that he would be lucky enough for it to be Kon. If not he'd have to come back here and get him somehow, no matter how annoying that plushy lion might have been he did protect Ichigo's body and even his family when he had to. Besides Kon was a perfectly living being in Ichigo's opinion and just letting him stay here in pill form until Urahara decided to throw him in the incinerator was a big no.

"Ah perfect, just like I thought, we still had one."

"No you didn't, liar!"

Rukia promptly jumped up and hit Urahara right in his bucket hat.

Ichigo took the distraction and moved for the front door.

"Thanks Urahara-san, see you later."

"See you soon, Kurosaki-san!"

Urahara shouted waving his fan in a dramatic goodbye.

Sometimes Ichigo wasn't sure if it was his dad's influence on Urahara or Urahara's influence on his dad that made the both of them so weird.

"Ichigo wait!"

Rukia quickly grabbed the still wrapped up gikon dispenser and ran after Ichigo.

The moment Rukia was out the door Urahara stashed his fan away and pulled on the rim of his hat, shadowing his eyes.

That was a most interesting visit.

Ichigo Kurosaki had come to him instead of the other way around and far sooner than he had anticipated. While that wasn't too weird in and of itself he was happy that Ichigo and Rukia had done so.

Ichigo was far more special than Urahara could have ever predicted and not entirely in a good way.

Apart from the fact that Ichigo was less hostile and wild than Urahara had anticipated, which was only from observation with either hostile or friendly people involved, never neutral shopkeepers for instance, Ichigo's reiatsu was a bomb waiting to go off.

For some reason Ichigo's own awakened Reiryoku that was his by birth was rebelling against the invading reiatsu from Rukia by releasing its own reiatsu to try and force it out. Which sadly wasn't working. Rukia's reiatsu was rooted firmly in place and Ichigo's reiatsu was pushing against it increasing the pressure between them until eventually Ichigo's far more powerful and larger amount of reiatsu would literally explode Rukia's reiatsu out of him and by extension kill or permanently damage Ichigo himself.

But that was both easy to remedy and positive in the long run.

Urahara didn't need to look behind him to know that Tessai was already standing there. Easily picking up the tense and serious mood his friend was in.

"Call Yoruichi, tell her it's an emergency. If she can't make it here by tonight, then were handling it on our own."

The hogyoku was active and awake.

And it was staring straight at Ichigo.

 **XXX**

Ichigo was waiting outside for Rukia to catch up. Impatiently waiting. He had to get his powers sorted fast. He really couldn't afford to fail now, not in anything.

"What's with you running outside like that!"

Ichigo returned her fiery look with a bored one.

"Well we probably missed a class already, don't want to get in trouble by missing another and I have to go back home to get a few books I forgot with the hole truck in a wall thing."

Rukia looked at him with slightly narrowed eyes, arms crossed again.

"Besides, you got a free gikon dispenser in all the rush. Which I'm going to need if I run into any hollows on my way back."

Rukia looked suspiciously at the outstretched hand. Ichigo didn't seem like the kind of guy who cared much for school.

Looking into his eyes however she saw something she hadn't been expecting.

Ichigo's bored look was starting to falter, showing more and more hurry and anxiety in his eyes.

He probably had something more important to do, more urgent.

"Just press the head and swallow the pill that comes out. It'll put a programmed artificial soul into your body who acts normal and follows your orders."

Ichigo looked relieved turning around and running towards his home.

"Thanks Rukia, see you in a minute!"

Rukia turned around ready to move back to the school. Looking back one more time at Ichigo's quickly retreating form. She hoped everything was alright with him. Perhaps having the full weight of being a shinigami come down on him was more heavy on him than she thought?

 **XXX**

Ichigo arrived at his home making sure to climb into his room through the window instead of going through the front door. No need to get in another bout with his father.

Once inside Ichigo closed his window again and after checking the hallway to make sure his father wasn't to close by he took out the gikon dispenser and unwrapped it.

A duck dispenser. Good, that meant there was a chance that this was the one Kon was in.

Pushing the head and swallowing the pill Ichigo's Shinigami body instantly pushed itself out of its human vessel.

There was definitely something wrong with his shinigami powers. He felt even more sluggish and uncomfortable than before and the weight of his sword was slowly increasing as well.

"Nice to meet you! My name is Kurosaki Ichigo. My favorite phrase is 'Early go bed, early go rise'!"

Sounded like Kon, but having only ever used Kon and no other gikon Ichigo couldn't be sure that that wasn't just a regular start phrase.

"I need to move to the other side of town to slay a hollow. Stay in this room and don't make a sound. I should be back tonight."

"Leave it to me master."

Ichigo turned around and jumped down but leaned himself against the wall of his home.

If this was Kon he wouldn't waste his first time in a body just sitting around unmoving and without making a sound for hours on end.

Instead he'd take the chance to jump out and go wherever he liked since Ichigo was supposedly gone for hours.

His body jumping out of his window at a speed too fast for any normal human told Ichigo all he needed to know.

Ichigo smiled, good it was Kon.

Kon was fast, but shunpo was faster.

Even with his body as sluggish and heavy as it was Ichigo was still able to shunpo next to Kon before he even landed.

Kon looked at Ichigo standing right next to him in alarm.

"Don't run, I just want to talk."

Kon didn't listen. The moment he landed he used all his leg strength to catapult him in the opposite direction of Ichigo.

Almost running straight into Ichigo again who was standing in front of him with his hands lifted up in surrender.

"I'm way faster than you are so running around isn't going to help you, so please just calm down so we can talk. I'm not here to dispose of you."

Kon started looking around for any way to escape all the while knowing full well that a shinigami he couldn't even see moving was far too fast to outrun.

"I know you're not a normal artificial soul but a mod soul, I know what happened to the other mod souls and I'm against that. I don't want to get rid of you, I want to give you your own body and a chance at life."

Kon was staring suspiciously at Ichigo, hope flickering in his eyes from time to time.

"Why? I don't know you and you don't know me. Why would you want to give me a body and a life?"

Ichigo's eyes hardened until his stare alone pinned Kon firmly into the ground and made avoiding eye contact impossible.

"Whether I know or don't know you doesn't matter. If you're conscious and you're alive then you deserve to get the chance to live that life. All life is sacred and we should do everything we can to make sure it isn't thrown away recklessly."

Ichigo's eyes seemed to give of a slightly red color.

"I will make sure everyone gets a chance to live in a world they deserve."

The light faded from Ichigo's eyes and they turned back to their normal passive gaze.

But the effects were already seared into Kon's mind.

A shinigami who actually cared about all life and not just their own and humans. One who wanted to better the world and protect all life. Kon's body relaxed and he smiled, the expression seeming odd to Ichigo on his own face especially since it was so genuine.

Ichigo definitely wasn't lying, Kon reasoned, now that he wasn't focused on running away any more he could see how he shouldn't have had the chance to even talk to Ichigo if he really just wanted his body back. It wouldn't be difficult at all for him to forcefully eject Kon and then do whatever he wished with him.

"You are a very weird person you know that."

They both smirked.

"Alright so what body am I getting? I doubt you'll give me yours."

Ichigo thought about that for a moment. He didn't want Kon back in his plushy lion form, he truly believed that you couldn't live your live to the fullest if you were stuck in a plush doll.

Kon had a good heart, more than Ichigo ever gave him credit for so he was going to find a better solution.

"I'll start with looking for the body of a dead animal for you. A good body of course. Any preference?"

"A bird!"

Was the overenthusiastic response.

"I want to be able to fly and be wherever I want. To really be completely free for once."

Ichigo nodded. That made sense, to be the exact opposite of what he has been his whole life before settling down again in a more human body. Finding a dead bird that's still in almost perfect condition so it could still fly was going to be extremely challenging though.

A thought flashed through Ichigo's mind of the only bird that was worth remembering.

No, it wasn't going to be very difficult after all.

"Alright I know where to get one, I'll try to find it tomorrow. For now you'll have to stay in pill form for another day."

The pill sucked but the promise of flight was enough to push away any sad thoughts.

"Alright, so I take it the hollow attack was fake?"

"Yeah but I still need you to stay in my body for a bit. I need to speak with my zanpakuto."

Ichigo promptly jumped back into his room with Kon following slightly confused behind him.

"Just sit down and don't make any noise. If you hear someone coming towards my room jump out the window again and make sure they don't see you."

Kon nodded and started rummaging through Ichigo's room. Ichigo would have been annoyed if he was paying attention. Instead he sat down drew his blade and put it down horizontally on his crossed legs. Closing his eyes Ichigo let his mind fall into his already heavy spirit, ready to enter his inner world.

 **XXX**

The floor gave way beneath Ichigo and he felt himself falling down. Eyes shooting open when he felt gravity increase 10 fold around him quickly followed by his body hitting a hard cold surface.

Rolling around on his front and standing up again with too much difficulty. Ichigo's feet gave way beneath him, sliding backwards and causing him to fall face first on the cold hard ground.

Ice, Ichigo noticed. He was laying on ice.

Carefully getting up this time Ichigo took stock of his surroundings.

His inner world had changed. Basically most of it was gone.

He was standing on a large ice floor that seemed to stretch on past the horizon. It wasn't as cold as ice should be, it only gave off a slightly chilly feeling and only when he touched it directly, the air around him felt normal. The sky had seemingly turned into one gigantic white cloud with a hole in it the perfect size to fit the sun. If Ichigo wasn't looking directly at the sky he would have been sure that it was a cloudless sunny day. The oddest thing was the silent red lightning that lashed out every now and then trapped inside the cloud itself.

Ichigo's fear was starting to bubble back up. This couldn't be happening. He needed his power right now. It was going to be difficult enough having to plan everything and keep an eye on so many things while also training himself again to gain control of his power again. If he couldn't even access his power he was going to fail. What the hell had happened here?

"Do not despair Ichigo."

Ichigo moved around so fast one of his legs slipped beneath him, putting him in a very awkward and uncomfortable position.

"You can stand on the air Ichigo."

Recognizing the voice this time, Ichigo jumped in the air and stayed there, turning around to meet…

"Can I still call you Zangetsu?"

The manifestation of his quincy powers shook his head and focused suddenly very serious eyes on him.

Ichigo himself was already immensely happy that his spirit didn't start demanding how he knew his name already. Which meant that the real Zangetsu would remember him as well.

"I am the manifestation of your quincy powers. The manifestation of the blood of Yhwach and his younger image. I might not be the same person in mind but I am the same person in all else, I no longer wish to be called by a name I've stolen for so long so if you still want to name me, then call me Yhwach."

Ichigo met his gaze unflinchingly and unbeknownst to Ichigo himself the lightning in the sky had increased and become more visible.

"You are still the same person that helped me gain the power to save Rukia and protect my friends. You're still the same person that did everything he could to protect my life and try to keep me out of harm's way. If you don't want your name to be Zangetsu then I'll call you Yhwach and I don't care either way because you haven't changed from the person I remember, Yhwach."

Ichigo smiled at him.

"And I'm glad your back, both of you."

Yhwach for once broke his cool character and smiled the biggest smile Ichigo had ever seen on him.

"I am so proud of you Ichigo."

His voice was quiet and sounded far lighter than anything Zangetsu had ever used. But the meaning behind those words shocked Ichigo right in his heart. More so then when they were spoken last time.

Last time the emotion was overshadowed by the sudden barrage of lies and truths thrown at him, but now with Yhwach still standing in front of him and not fading away, for Yhwach to still be proud of him after killing his other, older self and going back in time. His throat felt like it had grown a weight in it and his heart had followed and done the same.

"Uuh…"

He just had to lose his speech as well, didn't he? Taking a moment to compose himself Ichigo tried again.

*Cough* "I, I thought you'd be disappointed."

Yhwach raised a brow.

"I went back to the beginning. I couldn't see a way out in the future so instead I chose to go back. I gave up on moving forward. I went against your creed."

Yhwach snorted. Ichigo could barely believe what he heard.

"You take things far too literal Ichigo. It is a metaphor, meant to help you understand, to get the deeper meaning behind the words."

"But even though you took my creed to literal, you did seem to take its meaning to heart. You looked for a way forward, for a solution to all problems, you were willing to take any path you needed to, in order to succeed. But the only one that you found took you back in time. And so you did. You chose to go back, change your entire history, your entire life, throw away everything you did and achieved all to take an all or nothing chance at complete success."

The lightning kicked up a notch. The cloud it was trapped in barely able to contain it.

Yhwach smiled again.

"You didn't hesitate, didn't stop, you went forward instantly and took the chance knowing that you would make it work."

A bright flash of red lightning escaped the clouds and a clap of sound strong enough to almost blast Ichigo out of the air interrupted them but neither lost their focus.

"And that is why I am proud of you. You managed to take my creed to a level even I never thought possible."

Yhwach looked up at the sky, once more calming down to its natural amount of hidden red lightning.

"You still have a lot of work ahead of you however. Your soul is in turmoil."

Ichigo followed his gaze.

"Yeah I noticed. I can guess that the ice here is because of Rukia's ice powers, but where are my skyscrapers? And what's with the sky?"

"The sky is the manifestation of your mixed powers trying to work together like your mind remembers them doing. You have the knowledge and the memories on how to use your Shinigami, hollow and quincy abilities together but your powers here in the past have never been used in such a way. It will take time and training to successfully mix them together again. More importantly we must remove the ice dome first."

"Ice dome?"

Ichigo shunpo'd further up, noticing the pull of gravity getting smaller the higher he went, to get a higher view of his inner world.

Sure enough he could see the previous ice floor bending downwards over the horizon.

Yhwach materialized next to him again.

"My entire inner world is encased in an ice dome?"

"Your own Shinigami powers only awakened after Rukia had already given her powers to you because of that her powers are suppressing yours now for the time being."

Ichigo's eyes widened in alarm as the meaning of that became more apparent.

"So does that mean that Zangetsu is sealed inside there?"

"Sealed and angry. He is trying to break through by filling the dome with your reiatsu hoping it will destroy the dome."

The slight frown marring Yhwach's face told Ichigo that it wasn't that simple.

"If he continues like this the dome will continue to fill until Rukia's powers reach there breaking point. When that happens your Reiryoku will explode outwards in the form of reiatsu, too much for you to control, and destroy your body."

Ichigo would be flipping out if Yhwach wasn't still looking his normal calm.

"You have a plan don't you?"

Yhwach smirked.

"I'm going to teach you how to use your quincy abilities."

Ichigo didn't get it and he chose to make this known.

"Huh?"

"A powerful quincy can use his reiryoku as a source for his abilities. By doing so we can remove the pressure from within the dome and afterwards expel all reiryoku from Rukia in order to free Zangetsu."

Ichigo was confused though.

"But can we use my quincy abilities to expel Shinigami reiryoku?"

"You wanted to solve the quincy problem of destroying souls first if I recall. Using different sources of power to create our arrows would be a necessary step towards this. Besides I once suppressed your Shinigami power, only letting a small amount slip between my fingers. But in times like your bankai training I was able to use that amount for myself. I, a manifestation of your quincy powers, was able to wield Hollow Shinigami powers."

Ichigo knew that he was a special case and that he could probably do this but other people couldn't no matter how hard they tried to recreate it but it was a start for sure, it also proved another something Ichigo had been wondering about.

"I was wondering if you could see what I think about."

"I am a part of your soul Ichigo. I experience the world around you in the same way you do only with a different personality."

It made Ichigo think again of another part of his soul.

"How much does Zangetsu know?"

Both of them focused on the dome again.

"He knows that you went back in time but afterwards he was cut off from us and trapped within there. Whether he knows that he is being trapped by Rukia's power I don't know. But he is determined to come back to the surface."

"This is a new beginning for all of us after all. I can finally teach you the quincy abilities that I wanted you to learn from the beginning and Zangetsu no longer has to hide his origins and be suppressed. He can finally be accepted by you. So in his current position he is no longer thinking clearly and simply trying to get out no matter what."

Determination took hold of Ichigo.

"Then I'll master my quincy abilities and set him free as fast as possible."

"You'll have to do more than master them, after all you are planning on changing the way they work on a fundamental level. Mastery is only the bare minimum required."

Ichigo just waved a dismissive hand.

"I'm a fast learner and I have a knack for doing impossible things."

Ichigo's eyes focused back on Yhwach, another thought coming to him.

"I promise I'll respect both of you more this time. Until we can become one again you have your own mind and personality so you deserve to be treated like a real person and not just my power."

Yhwach smiled.

"You still have work to do tonight if I recall. So we will start your training when you get back. Simply enter your inner world when you go to sleep. It will refresh your human body physically at the least while you train."

A small silence followed. Both of them simply looking at the ice dome and feeling the need to save their wayward soul partner. Ichigo knew what he had to do, his fear was gone now that he wasn't completely alone anymore.

"And thank you Ichigo."

Ichigo smiled, slowly fading away until it was only Yhwach who remained.

Yhwach looked up at the sky still raging with silent lightning.

He hated that he had to lie to Ichigo but if he knew the real reason for the current weather it would only diminish what was left of Ichigo's ascended mind. It was his mind that had gone back in time after all, and that part of him had ascended too. Sadly Ichigo's current body and state of being couldn't sustain it, so it had to be kept here in order to last a bit longer. Once it faded entirely the emotional turmoil of losing all his friends as he knew them and basically his entire past life, would flood his inner world and drown his mind in grief and pain.

Ichigo needed to find new friends or remake old ones so they could help pick him up when he would inevitably fall down.

At the very least Yhwach and Zangetsu would be here for him. If only that.

 **XXX**

Instantly changing from a standing position to a sitting one Ichigo knew he was back in the real world. Opening his eyes he got a glimpse of himself looking quizzically at his face before the abrupt opening of eyes caused Kon to jump backwards.

"Hey Ichigo had a good rest?"

Ichigo got up with far too much difficulty to his liking. His shinigami body still not what it should be, but not for much longer.

"Jinzen isn't sleeping Kon its meditating."

"Huh, looked like you were asleep to me. I was wondering why you wanted to sleep on the floor in your soul form."

Kon was still the same, almost 2 years of time and experience hadn't really changed Kon in anyway.

"I'm afraid I'm going to need my body back again. I still have to go to school for the rest of the day."

Kon luckily looked less sad than Ichigo expected him to be.

"That's alright, just don't forget about the bird!"

Ah, right the bird he would have to get that problem sorted out tomorrow so Kon didn't get antsy. Having 2 eyes in the sky wasn't exactly a bad thing either.

"I'll get to it tomorrow. I'm not sure but normally a girl should be coming over here to sleep in my closet. I don't know how aware you are in pill form but try and keep an eye on her."

Kon looked surprised for some reason.

"Wow, you keep your girlfriend in your closet? And you want me to spy on her? What's up with that?"

Ichigo's face turned red for a second before Kon suddenly found himself back in pill form, being held a bit too close to breaking point in Ichigo's hand.

Ichigo's human body luckily didn't catch a blush.

"She's not my girlfriend. Just a midget Shinigami that I'm taking care of."

If Rukia heard that she would have killed him.

Stopping himself before he could break Kon, Ichigo moved towards his desk. Placing Kon on it and positioning an open school book over him in a small tent like formation. Rukia wouldn't start looking through his school books and shouldn't be able to see Kon in the shade of the book while Kon on the other hand had a perfect viewpoint of the door and closet.

If he was able to see or sense anything at all that is.

"Right, I'll be back somewhere tonight. So, uh, see you then, if you can hear me."

Ichigo promptly jumped back out the window and started running back to school.

 **XXX**

Class was already in session when Ichigo casually moved back in. Glancing at the current teacher, teacher number 3, name currently and forever unknown, Ichigo was almost ready to come up with another excuse for his absence when suddenly Rukia jumped up and moved towards him.

"Excuse me miss Suzuki. I have an appointment with the principal about my school transfer."

Moving on auto-pilot Ichigo turned around and walked out of the class again, muttering a 'Toilet break' as an excuse.

Both of them were outside a bit further down the hallway, the teacher didn't really care much about 2 students suddenly leaving if her non-existent response was anything to go by.

"We have a hollow at the Yamizawa's children park, he'll appear in a few minutes so we have to hurry."

Ichigo had honestly completely forgotten that there was still a hollow attack today mostly because the events of this day had already changed drastically from last time.

And he left Kon back at home.

Groaning was Ichigo's response and Rukia was none too pleased with it.

"I forgot the gikon dispenser back at home."

"You, what!?"

"Oh, just shut up and hit me in the face already! We don't have time for this!"

The unexplainable star like light burning in Rukia's eyes and the aura of death surrounding her supposedly powerless body made Ichigo almost regret antagonizing her.

The stretching of the glove around hand that seemed to rattle his bones made him quickly make up his mind.

Yes he regretted this, this was going to hurt all the way to his soul.

 **XXX**

Ichigo was an odd person, Rukia reasoned.

In just one day of interacting with him she had seen him completely bored and uninterested, extremely interested but not pushy, worried, thoughtful and so astonishingly determined and strong willed that even the captain commander himself would have taken his words to heart.

And stupid of course, Ichigo could be immensely stupid as well.

Still despite the few quirks he had. Rukia found herself happy with having him as her representative. It could have been so much worse and the fact that Ichigo could slay a hollow with an ease that she almost envied herself was a big plus as well. Honestly she didn't know if she even had to teach him anything anymore for the rest of her stay.

But the biggest plus was that Ichigo seemed very responsible. He wouldn't abuse the powers that he had not even after she left.

Still, she was going to keep a closer eye on him tomorrow, whether he liked it or not. Working on a school project was all well and good but if that meant being too late to save a wandering soul from a hollow then he would have to forget about school for a while or let her tag along wherever he went.

With her mind made up Rukia closed her eyes and started drifting asleep inside Ichigo's closet.

Just outside of the closet door stood a figure concealed in a dark hooded cloak seemingly staring through the closet itself and straight at Rukia.

After another minute of staring after she had fallen asleep the figure moved back through the window and up on the roof of the adjacent building to meet with his accomplice, identically garbed.

"And?"

"It's asleep again, still slightly aware of the world around it but no longer trying to communicate or interact with anything. This must mean that Ichigo is the catalyst for the Hogyoku's odd behavior, like I suspected."

Tessai nodded in agreement. He couldn't sense the hogyoku let alone its current state but if anyone could it would be its creator.

"What do you want to do?"

Urahara let lose a deep sigh. That was a very good question with no right answer to it. If he did nothing and the hogyoku somehow started attaching itself fully to Ichigo or Rukia than he would have a lot of explaining to do. And a teenage Shinigami/quincy/hollow hybrid with a noble Shinigami having full knowledge and control of the hogyoku was a definite no. He wanted it destroyed or sealed so that would mean the other option. Take out Rukia now, try to modify Ichigo's memory or forge an 'I have to leave. Shinigami business' note for him to find. But that would mean he was back to square one, with the hogyoku as indestructible as ever and back in its usual and not safe enough location.

The chance of finding another shinigami on a long term mission, stationed in one location who can convincingly stay in the human world, and wants to, with no other back up or associates coming over and have just lost almost all of their shinigami power was too small. And even that wouldn't be enough if Rukia herself wasn't a perfect match for the hogyoku to sleep within.

It was almost like someone had staged the whole thing. Urahara would have been worried if he wasn't sure that no one could know the intricacies of the hogyoku apart from him.

"We'll leave it for now. But once Yoruichi comes over we have to have a constant watch on them. In the meantime we'll wait for Ichigo to approach us again. I'll try to keep him as close to me as much as possible by offering him training and putting his powers back in order."

"And if something does happen?"

Urahara started moving back to the shop, Tessai following close behind.

Throwing the hood of the reiatsu concealing cloak away from his head Urahara turned his downcast eyes at the ground.

"I'll have time to see Ichigo's power in use and the effect the hogyoku has on it or the effect he has on the hogyoku. If I can't find any way to separate them or prevent them from connecting, then I'll do whatever I have to do."

Even if it meant potentially assassinating one of his closest friends son. Just because he was smart enough to nearly always come up with different ideas to solve a problem didn't mean that he couldn't or wouldn't go to the extreme if necessary. The hogyoku just happened to be one of those things outside of his own intelligence even if he made the damn thing. If Ichigo was out of the picture then the hogyoku, as proven tonight, would stay still and quiet as it should be. It was an extreme option but an option none the less.

 **XXX**

Ichigo found himself walking up the stairs of dilapidated apartment complex, stopping on the third floor.

No one knew of this place except for its current inhabitants and Ichigo himself. It was the perfect base of operations for Ichigo to train and plan without anyone ever learning about it. Except for the few people already here that he needed on his side anyway.

At this time however none of them knew him and that for once was a good thing. It would mean a cleaner and more honest start than last time.

Stopping in front of one of the doors Ichigo knocked loudly on it three times.

"Ginjo, Giriko, Riruka, Jackie, Tsukishima, Yukio open the door please."

He didn't have his key-card anymore but they couldn't ignore him now that some stranger just guessed all their names.

"Who are you?"

Ginjo's voice sounded on the other end of the door.

Ichigo decided to let his powers speak for him. Putting his hand on the door.

Going back in time meant that he lost all of the power he gained and most of the control over it.

The inner mechanisms in the door started moving, glowing with a faint green light around them as Ichigo focused and manipulated them.

But in his case it also meant that he had regained a previously stolen, power.

The door clicked and Ichigo pushed it open. He was met with the more than amusing sight of all the mentioned members of Xcution staring at him in dumb shock. Eyes wide and their mouth's hanging slightly open.

Ichigo smirked a trademark Aizen smirk.

"Just a fellow fullbringer looking for some help."

* * *

 **Huge thanks too everyone who favorite, follow or reviewed my first chapter, I was immensely happy with how much people liked it. Also if you have a question about the story or anything else send me a pm or post a review and I'll be sure to answer it by pm(not spoiling the story though).**

 **So here is chapter 2 and the actual beginning of the time travel fic. This chapter turned out to be almost 10K words, so if you think that's a bit too long for one chapter let me know.**

 **I hope you liked reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it and I normally will update this story around every week, give or take a few days.**

 **As alway please let me know what you think about the story, writing style, grammar and so on so I can continue to improve.**

 **See ya!**


	3. Gathering Allies

**I do not own anything from Bleach**

 **Author's Note is at the end**

* * *

'Yo, this is how I, Ichigo, talk in my head.'

'This is how I, Yhwach, communicate with Ichigo through his mind.'

* * *

Ichigo was met with silence after his statement, the expressions of his fellow fullbringers did change to varying degrees. Another pile of shock adding to the amount already present was it for most. Ginjo however was staring with more than dumb shock but with curiosity and a more malicious interest.

Ichigo never knew what Xcution did before they decided to steal his fullbring, but if he had to guess, they would likely be searching for other fullbringers to steal their power or add them to their group. He really hoped they didn't have much success before they found him.

Ginjo was probably thinking along that line, making Ichigo join them or taking his power for themselves. In a way Ichigo planned on doing both.

Tsukishima was the only one who was regaining his composure, falling back on his usual unemotional self. But choosing to let Ginjo calm himself first and take the lead.

Riruka was not quite as patient.

Jumping up from the couch she was seated on and pointing in his direction.

"Who the hell are you and how do you know about us!"

Ichigo went with the chance to introduce himself a little better to get things going.

"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, fullbringer and temporary shinigami."

Ichigo wasn't sure if it was still safe for their eyes to go so wide. Ginjo even flinched backwards in obvious shock.

"I want to make a deal. I need your help and in return I'll give you mine."

Ginjo finally collected himself enough to react. Marching forward with Tsukishima following him closely from the side.

"A deal? What deal and again how do you know our names or even what fullbring is? Even if you have the ability, I'm the one that came up with that name and I'm sure I've never told you about it."

Ginjo was standing in front of him, Tsukishima on his left with all the others standing up and turning in his direction, ready to attack the moment Ginjo decided to.

"The point is I know who all of you are and I know what your fullbring abilities are. You won't believe the reason if I just tell you, so first, let's make sure that I can't lie."

A pointed look at Giriko.

"Let's make a contract with time."

Giriko's one remaining eye widened again.

"You can ask me any question as long as the subject is about any current member of Xcution. If I lie I glow green if I lie a second time in succession I die. After I have answered all of your questions only I can leave the room while all others have to wait for 2 hours. I am only allowed to use my fullbring if I am attacked by one of you first and if so I will not be allowed to leave the room. Those are the conditions for your Time Tells No Lies ability."

Xcution and all its members were simple. They wanted power. None of them had a clear cut goal for what they were going to use that power for just yet and they might never even find one. But none of them cared about any of that for now, right now they wanted power so they could survive and do whatever they wanted to do in the future.

They had no affiliation with any other group, they trusted no other people and they had no plans whatsoever except 'get more power'. Any information he told them about their future and time travel would go no further than the people in this room no matter how they chose to use it.

"You get all of your answers. I can't attack you unless you decide to attack me. You can ask me what your abilities are to see if I really know them and then decide if I'm worth attacking. If so then I'm stuck in this room and can't simply flee even if I prove to powerful. If you don't want me dead then letting me leave is no problem."

While Riruka and Jackie didn't look fully convinced. Ginjo was far too interested to pass up the opportunity. There wasn't really any risk in it too them. Worst case scenario they'd chose to kill the guy and still end up with him trapped and all their questions answered. But…

"Why the 2 hour delay and you haven't told us what you get out of this? Plus, we want to know more about you, just asking questions about ourselves isn't going to be that informative."

"I don't want you to follow me home just yet and I get nothing out of this. I still need your help but I'll let you ask your questions first and then give you a day to think about the answers. When I come back here I'll tell you about me, what I need from you and how I'm going to give you what you want. Besides if I don't come back then that means you chose to let me go in the first place which means I'm no harm to you and you still know how I know everything about you."

Ginjo wasn't completely satisfied with that but Ichigo looked like he wouldn't compromise on the details of the contract. If they decided to handle this their way then Ichigo might still end up lying to them or simply withhold information. Besides anything else they might do is either kill him, have Riruka trap him in her dollhouse or have Tsukishima stab him and insert himself into his past and they could still do all of those after their questions if they wanted to and those questions were important since Ichigo clearly knew Giriko's ability well enough to know that even he himself couldn't alter the conditions to- or remove his contract after they were placed. Otherwise the whole contract would have been void. He also likely knew that if he broke any of the conditions, like trying to flee the room, than he would be burned to death. Not only that but even if the guy's fullbring was reading minds or something like that he couldn't use it during the questioning unless they attacked him.

He was silently impressed actually. The guy gave them every advantage they could ask for. Created a win-win situation for them. Made sure they didn't have anything to lose from this and even removed any possible advantage he could have had by nullifying his own fullbring. And yet the guy must be absolutely sure that they either wouldn't attack him or that he could take all of them on if they did.

Both were scary in their own right.

"All right, but I'm going to have to check you for gikon and the like. You didn't include shinigami powers in there."

Ichigo simply nodded finally closing the door behind him and walking up to Ginjo with his arms already outstretched.

"Sure, I didn't take any with me so including them in the contract wasn't necessary. You might want to sit down for this though, no matter what you ask the answers aren't going to be anything your expecting."

Jackie fell back down on the couch and Yukio jumped back up the table continuing with his video game while keeping a sideways glance on Ichigo. The rest chose not to move until Ginjo gave the word. Except for Riruka who was storming at him.

"What kind of a weird guy are you?! Coming in here all creepily, telling us you know things about us. Have you been stalking me?! And I never said that I accepted to help you or that I needed your help for anything!"

It was not even funny how Riruka really didn't fit in with these people or Xcution's motives for power at all. Exasperated and annoyed looks was all she got from the other members though, none of them choosing to verbally acknowledge or admonish her and leaving it for Ichigo to deal with. That did show that none of them were completely bad, since they all accepted her and Ginjo even gave her part of his/Ichigo's power in another time.

All of them had the potential to be good and lead good lives if they weren't so focused on survival and isolating themselves. They were surrounded by people weaker than them, who both didn't want to understand them and might overwhelm them in masses if they became to open with their powers.

They were lonely and afraid to be taken advantage off or simply put down in Ichigo's mind.

Ichigo smiled at Riruka, which none of the members seemed to expect especially not Riruka who grinded to a halt instantly.

Riruka was the first one who came to the conclusion that she wanted more than power in life, and that she would gladly trade all that power for friendship in return.

"You'll know in a bit Riruka and don't worry none of you have to help me if you don't want to and if you do I won't be asking for much."

Ichigo's attention was drawn back to Ginjo just in time for him to miss the rapidly rising red tide that became Riruka's face.

"Right your definitely clean. Let's sit over there on those couches. Ichigo, your sitting on the one against the wall. The rest of us will sit in a half circle surrounding you."

Ichigo nodded not minding the defensive and possibly future hostile positioning of the other fullbringers and walked to his place looking over his shoulder at Giriko who hadn't stopped looking at him through his narrowed eye.

"If you don't mind Giriko say the conditions of the contract out loud while you place it."

The reason for it was obvious to everyone.

Ichigo sat down while all the others were sitting in position too except for Giriko who chose to stand up while he was reciting the conditions to the contract which Ichigo paid just enough attention to in order to make sure that everything was set up exactly right.

Giriko really had a very interesting ability and Ichigo was happy that he was right in assuming that Giriko could make up such an extensive contract. Except for Ginjo and Jackie the other fullbringers were a lot more complicated with their abilities and had a vast amount of potential. While abilities like Ichigo's Getsuga were only useful if you could put enough power into them. Abilities like Riruka's dollhouse were a lot more useful since even if she wasn't anywhere near as powerful as her opponent she could still trap anyone inside of it.

If Yukio's Chat Room ability was anything to go by then they weren't completely flawless though. Ichigo and Ginjo had broken through that one even though it shouldn't have been possible according to Yukio. But they were both in bankai and multiple times stronger than him, each.

A weight suddenly dropped itself into his stomach, quickly becoming less noticeable until it was gone altogether and Ichigo was left with an empty hole in his chest where there had been something mere seconds ago. Giriko sitting down somewhere further on his right and the undivided attention he got from everyone around him told him that the contract was set.

Experimentally Ichigo quickly focused on his fullbring power hidden deep within his stomach. He instantly felt that his power was still there only so deep and small that it would take immense concentration and a bit of time to bring it back to the surface. Hopefully there would be no need for that.

Ginjo wasted no time and started the interrogation.

"How did you find this place?"

"You told me the address, met me outside and then guided me inside here."

Everyone looked back at Ginjo quickly catching his frown as a sign that Ichigo was lying. Ginjo himself was wondering why Ichigo would bother with lying since it would come out anyway.

He would be caught lying right now.

Any second.

Ginjo's brows smoothed out again and quickly started there to rise along with his surprise and confusion. The rest of the members were looking in confusion between Ichigo and Ginjo. Giriko seemed to be frowning as well interpreting Ginjo's look as disbelief, implying that Ichigo was lying. Which wasn't possible.

Ginjo's head snapped around at Giriko. His commanding tone breaking the silence.

"Giriko check your fullbring!"

Giriko did as instructed, even though he knew the answer already, angering Ginjo wasn't needed. Pulling out his golden pocket watch, Giriko clicked it open and looked at the dial for a few seconds.

"The contract has taken hold with all the rules still in place and unbroken, I'm sure of it."

"That's impossible!"

Unless…

"Does your fullbring have the power to alter or remove memories?"

Ichigo remained calm absently noticing Tsukishima's worried gaze previously on Ginjo switch to him suspiciously.

"No, but that's purely related to me so Giriko's ability won't verify it."

Ginjo calmed himself momentarily. It wouldn't make sense anyway. If Ichigo could alter or had already altered their memory than he could make them want to help him instead of asking for help and right now if he did have the ability to remove memories than that wouldn't help him in a fight. Fullbring abilities were vastly different from one another anyway and Tsukishima could already do something far to similar. Maybe other fullbring abilities didn't work on him?

"Giriko, if I tell Ichigo to answer the following question with yes regardless of what it is and the answer is a lie will it still be seen as Ichigo himself lying?"

Giriko nodded determinedly, eager to prove the 100% accuracy of his ability.

Ginjo looked pointedly at Ichigo and Ichigo nodded back.

"Is my fullbring the ability to change my jacket into a black spear?"

"Yes."

It didn't take more than a moment for Ichigo to start giving off a very noticeable green hue.

Ginjo's mouth almost fell open completely, clearly not expecting Giriko's ability to work even though a part of him already knew the answer to that question from the very beginning. It simply wouldn't make sense for Ichigo to arrange all this and then have everything fall apart by showing that he could counter Giriko's ability.

A quick look at Giriko showed that everything was working as expected.

Another moment of silence followed.

With Ginjo staring at the ground, thinking for a moment, the rest of the group were both curious and confused by what was happening.

The green hue surrounding Ichigo vanished.

Riruka couldn't hold her confusion in any longer and was ready to ask the obvious follow up question. But Tsukishima beat her to it.

"Why can't Ginjo remember bringing you here?"

"Because it hasn't happened yet and won't happen anymore. But back in my time he did."

Varying degrees of dawning realization hit the fullbringers in front of him. Surprisingly it was Riruka who finally asked the right question, even if it was in jest.

"So what, you're from the future or something?"

"Yes, I am from the future."

Ginjo was surprisingly calm still staring at the floor not reacting or even checking to see if Ichigo had lied. Giriko was visibly surprised but with his absolute certainty in his ability didn't seem to doubt the statement. The rest was to stunned for Ichigo to get even a faint idea about how they felt, if they were feeling anything at all right now.

Ginjo looked up, his face the same way as Ichigo remembered it when he was dead serious.

"Why did I recruit you?"

Tsukishima was the one to respond to that.

"Ginjo! You can't seriously belief that."

Ginjo stayed calm focusing on Ichigo and Ichigo got the feeling that he wouldn't shift focus until the interrogation was over with.

"Giriko's ability has never failed before no matter what we used it on or what the conditions were and denying Ichigo's claim now would get us nowhere. If he really is from the future and clearly knew all of us then we will be able to tell from his reciting of the future. There's no way no matter how long or how much you spied on us that you could predict our feelings or even actions in the future unless you really are from there."

Ichigo nodded again glad that that little revelation had gone over so well, hopefully it lasted.

"You recruited me because I had lost my shinigami powers at the time and had the potential for fullbring. I wanted my powers back in order to protect my friends and family and you promised me you would help me regain them if I would take away all of your powers afterwards. That turned out to be lie however and when I gained my complete fullbring you stabbed me and stole it for yourself and the other members."

It took a little bit for Ginjo to shift emotion but when he did it was a surprisingly sad one.

Ichigo was here willingly, back in time. How he didn't know, but it was clear who had won in the end.

"I died didn't I?"

"Yes. I killed you after I regained my shinigami power."

Shocked was an apt description of what everyone looked like but for Tsukishima it was a gross understatement.

Ginjo seemed to expect it and with a hand on his shoulder reminding him that this was a different future and that Ginjo was still here, Tsukishima relaxed again but Ichigo now had two sets of eyes on him that wouldn't leave him again only this pair burned with anger and hatred.

Having Tsukishima as your enemy was a despair infusing, mind collapsing position to be in, the perfect remedy to it luckily being Ginjo.

"When?"

"The same night as when you stole them from me."

Ichigo found that it was more than a little bit satisfying to reiterate it as many times as he could. He stole them from him. The pain of losing his powers for a second time, only now for either no good reason or a potentially terrible one, was almost too much to live with. He never did get to vent all of that in a proper way.

Ginjo seemed to notice the lingering resentment still in his voice further fueling his budding respect for Ichigo. If Ichigo was the kind of person like him who went for revenge then he wouldn't be here talking to his enemy. Ichigo was angry at him, clearly, but it was an anger that wouldn't last for long once it could air out a little bit. Not enough to vow for revenge. Not enough to hold a grudge for years. Not enough to vow to regain his powers so he could take his shot at deadly vengeance.

Not like him.

"What about the others?"

"Giriko died fighting against a shinigami captain, Tsukishima died from his injuries fighting against another captain, Jackie lost her fullbring but survived, Riruka and Yukio survived as well."

The anger and hate he was still feeling sent at him broke away for an indecipherable look. Tsukishima clearly didn't know what to make of hearing about his own death. Riruka and Yukio looked relieved, Riruka more pronounced, with the deep breath she let out, than Yukio who had lost his previously tense muscles and softened his gaze. Giriko was truly shocked even a bit offended for implying that he had died after gaining more power to fuel his already invincible fullbring. Jackie was another one who wasn't sure how to feel, although fleeting signs of relief seemed to flicker across her face whenever she looked down at her boots.

"I have no more questions."

Ginjo stood up abruptly moving to the bar with Tsukishima quickly following behind him.

Even Ichigo was surprised to hear that, he was fully expecting and prepared to give an hour long retelling of every event that had happened if necessary. He expected Ginjo to at least deny his own defeat or ask about the exact nature of his enhanced powers.

Perhaps Ginjo did have a reason for gaining more power?

When Ginjo had stolen his power from him he had enjoyed Ichigo's pain, grown overconfident in his own power and at the end he physically looked every bit like he was in mind. But in the last moments before he died he seemed to question his own way. As if he could never acknowledge himself being wrong until the proof stood before him in the flesh.

If Ginjo's help with restoring his bankai, later on, was anything to go by then yes, Ginjo was somewhere deep inside a good person who knew he was doing something wrong.

Perhaps Ichigo being here was enough to send the message home. At this time he had no plan, no target (hopefully) only the possibility of finding someone to give them more power and that someone had promptly gone back in time to tell them it wouldn't work anyway.

Giriko quickly demanded his attention again, his interrogation wasn't done yet.

"But how did I die? What were my powers? How much stronger was I!? Who was I fighting!?"

Giriko clearly did put everything on the line for nothing but power if his horror and disbelief about his defeat was anything to go by.

"Uhm, I don't know what your new powers were. Yukio put all of you along with your opponents in different chat rooms. You were fighting against Zaraki Kenpachi, a captain who specializes in pure overwhelming physical strength and zanjutsu. When the fight was over you were dead, he never said what you did."

Giriko stayed there his expression frozen in place for a full awkward minute. Until some measure of understanding finally came and pushed it down into a sullen, defeated and still slightly disbelieving expression. Giriko moved to the bar as well, not saying another word.

Jackie was looking solely at her boots now, her expression unmistakably happy. She seemed content to leave it at that regarding the future.

Yukio was playing his video game again and if the almost finger punching sound of smashing buttons was anything to go by then it was safe to say that he was angry. Not about being alive but he likely came to the conclusion that more power wasn't the way to go.

Riruka, surprisingly, was the last person to jump in.

"What happened after…"

Her question was silent and unfinished but Ichigo knew and understood what she meant.

"I don't know where you and Yukio went afterwards but you apparently separated until a friend of mine, Urahara, found you again and brought you to the Soul Society to help me out. There was an invasion going on and you and Yukio helped me and my friends to enter the enemies base with your fullbring. You didn't participate in the battle and not so long after that I was sent back in time."

Riruka looked surprised and amazed to hear that, even Yukio had temporarily stopped his game to look up at Ichigo in surprise before quickly continuing. Although the finger punching toned down until it was simply normal pressing buttons again.

Riruka turned around and moved for the door but quickly stopped herself when she realized that she couldn't leave right now. Instead, choosing her previous spot on the couch again to lie down and stare at the ceiling in thought.

Ichigo sat in silence for another minute to make sure that no more questions would pop up. None did.

"Well, like I said, I'll leave you to think about things. If you come up with any more questions I'll answer them tomorrow."

Ichigo stood up and moved for the door, stopping midstride after he noticed no one even acknowledged his leave.

"If you want more time to think about things I can come back a few days later."

Ginjo, an unnamed bottle of liquor in hand, finally looked back at him. Eyes as empty as his shot glass.

"No, come back tomorrow night. I just need some time to drink and forget most of this. The hangover in the morning should make thinking about this less painful, I hope."

Tsukishima was sitting next to Ginjo looking at him in worry but the small smirk on Ginjo's face told him that he would be alright. Giriko was taking Ginjo's advice to the extreme and chugging down bottle after bottle. Ichigo just hoped they weren't all liquor.

Moving for the door again Ichigo heard Ginjo's silent question just as the door opened. Wondering how he could have possibly heard something so silent without standing right next to him.

"Were the same aren't we?"

Ichigo moved outside holding the door in hand ready to close it.

"I'm a human who is also an official substitute shinigami with hollow powers, fullbring and quincy blood."

The door closed.

"Yeah, were fucking the same alright."

Ginjo emptied his bottle and promptly took the next one.

"Mostly."

 **XXX**

It was 11pm when Ichigo finally got back home. Too late to go through the front door and not expect a flying kick and now wasn't the time to punch his dad in the ground.

Climbing up to his never locked window, Ichigo silently moved over to Kon. Looking at his closed closet where he supposed Rukia would be right now. Ichigo took Kon from his hiding spot and moved back outside through the window until he was at the back of his house.

Swallowing the pill Ichigo was instantly ejected from his body, which fell to the floor. Asleep.

Huh, so Kon could actually sleep in his pill form which meant that he was aware on some level. Restraining himself from kicking his own body awake, Ichigo simply shook him at the shoulder.

His own eyes groggily opened and slowly focused on him. How did Kon even continue to sleep when he just fell down on the ground?

"Ichigo? Wah?"

"I swallowed you."

That sounded wrong.

"You're in my body now. Did you sleep the entire time or did you actually see something?"

Kon's mind woke up fully when he felt his ability to move once more.

"I wanted to tell you before you punched me out of your body."

A resentful look followed, one that Ichigo took in stride. He had essentially punched himself so Kon couldn't complain.

"I'm aware when I'm in my pill form. I can think but I have no senses to see the world around me, except for some vague reiatsu sensing I'm left to my own thoughts. I can only really feel something if, for instance, someone squeezes me so tight that I almost break."

Another resentful look taken in stride.

"Well it doesn't matter too much, Rukia probably didn't do anything weird but for the record, she is an official shinigami so try to act like a normal artificial soul whenever you're in my body."

Kon looked scared for a moment before he calmed down again. Ichigo had promised to get him another body soon, so it wouldn't be too dangerous for long.

A quick nod to each other and Ichigo stepped forward, straight into Kon. The pill ejecting from Ichigo's mouth was deftly caught again and Ichigo continued his soul forms movement and walked back to his window. Yhwach was waiting for him.

 **XXX**

Actually manifesting on the ice dome instead of above it Ichigo opened his eyes to look straight into the ones of his waiting spirit.

One smiled, the other smirked coolly.

Getting up Ichigo readied himself for whatever training was waiting for him.

"So, how do I do this?"

Yhwach's answer manifested in the form of a bow in his left hand.

"Since this is your inner world where everything is made up of your reiatsu and reiryoku the reishi you would normally pluck from the air isn't present in the same form. You still need to manifest your bow the same way but you will automatically use your reiryoku to do so."

Ichigo knew his control over his reiatsu was shabby at best, so he had been wondering how he would gain the control necessary to free his shinigami powers before they exploded around him. Skipping the whole reishi part and using reiryoku from the start was a good way to do that. Something no other quincy could do since they didn't have an inner world like he did.

"To manifest your bow imagine the air around you to be made out of the same energy you would normally use for a Getsuga. Coalesce that energy into a flowing bow form. Don't bother with arrows or even a solid form just yet. Start by pushing your reiryoku and holding it in the correct form just like you hold a Getsuga along the length of your blade."

Ichigo nodded, closing his eyes and stretching out his left hand to form his bow in. He could feel the energy around him but pulling it into the right formation was difficult. It felt more like wind that he could guide in the right direction but not hold there for long enough.

Suddenly he could feel the beginnings of a line of Getsuga like energy forming. Only to have it ripped away from him. Opening his eyes again he could see Yhwach pulling the blue energy away from him and instantly forming an arrow out of it, shooting it off into the sky where it slowly went out of sight before it inevitably broke apart.

"Inside of your inner world the energy that comes from within you is reiatsu and the energy outside of you that makes up the entirety of your inner world is reiryoku. You are only allowed to use reiryoku even though you will naturally try and use your reiatsu like you did just now. Your reiatsu is constantly in use and moving around, therefore to instable to be used for this purpose. Your reiryoku is less active and more stable as a result. Whenever you use your reiatsu I will take it away from you before it can fully form and explode in a makeshift Getsuga."

Ichigo nodded closing his eyes again.

"You could have told me that from the start you know?"

Ichigo could somehow feel his spirit shake his head.

"There is no point in telling you everything that could possibly happen or go wrong. You will learn from your mistakes as you make them and I'm here to make sure you don't repeat them."

Ichigo focused on his work again, he had much more to learn and plenty more mistakes to make. If he had to estimate he'd say he had another week or so to master the quincy bow and arrow technique.

"4 days to be exact. You will do so in 2."

Ichigo's eyes opened again in surprise.

"I can hear and see what you think, even in here, now that we have fully accepted one another. Do not fear the future, we will be ready for it when it comes. Your mother was a powerful quincy and I am the second most knowledgeable quincy when it comes to the quincy arts, outclassed only by my other self. With your rate of growth, existing powers and the will to overcome any challenge we must, you will have mastered this technique in 2 days."

Yhwach sounded absolutely sure. Both in the fact that with his training it could be done in 2 days and that Ichigo was the one person who would do so.

Closing his eyes Ichigo focused. 2 days it is.

 **XXX**

Ichigo opened his eyes again to a new day for most and a continuing one for him. His body was well rested, he noted, but his mind was far less so. Continuous concentration and reiryoku manipulation the likes he hadn't ever tried was extremely tiring. He felt a reluctant growing respect for Ishida who was able to create a perfect bow and arrow out of reishi without effort when he could hold his wavering, burning bow for only 30 seconds before it fell apart and his arrows only survived for 3 seconds before they faded away.

'Ishida's heilig bogen and heilig feil are the standard quincy ones. Yours are far more difficult to create.'

…

'You can speak to me through my mind?!'

'Yes I can. When you are in your human body you are most in tune with me, your quincy powers and we can communicate like this. You should be able to talk to Zangetsu in your shinigami form as well once we free him.'

That was a disconcerting thought but maybe Zangetsu would calm down a bit once Ichigo was more accepting of him. Unlikely but possible.

'No, I'm afraid not.'

With another revelation revealed his mind focused on the previous subject again.

'How are my bow and arrows better than those of Ishida? Ishida's are perfectly solid and they don't disappear in half a minute.'

'I never said that yours were better only that the technique you're using is more difficult. Ishida has a quincy cross as a focal point that automatically draws reishi towards it, leaving him to only assist the cross and form the actual bow and arrows. Once formed they stay until broken or released by their wielder. You have no cross to help you and once your bow and arrows are formed you must maintain your focus to sustain them without letting both of them mix together. Keeping the arrows in their form while they travel away from you is the hardest part of this training.'

'Why the hell am I learning a more difficult technique first?!'

'This is not a combat technique. It's purely for training. We do not have the time to do this the long way and with the rate you are improving we do not need it either. Tonight, I will teach you how to draw from your shinigami reyrioku. Once you are able to do so, we can free Zangetsu no matter how proficient you are at using the technique. The difference will only be the amount of arrows and the amount of time it will take. After that I will teach you how to properly use your quincy powers perfectly.'

Yhwach was right of course, he didn't really need any new combat abilities right now, that could wait for a bit. First things first.

Getting out of bed Ichigo got ready to start his day with another round of far too much underappreciated breakfast.

"I-"

Reflexes

"Gah!"

His father didn't even get in his room this time as evidenced by the hole his father was righteously punched through right outside the door to Ichigo's bedroom.

"Immensely painful my son, it seems I have nothing left to teach you."

Was the predictable and barely audible response of his father with none of the exuberance from before. Ichigo wondered if he actually went a bit too far.

He had used his fullbring power to propel his fist at a high enough speed to punch his father through the floor without having to shred his muscles apart.

"Daddy are you okay?!"

"Of course sweet daughter of mine, don't you worry, your father still has a lot to teach your brother before he is ready to take on adulthood!"

Oh no, none of that. His father was going to find his human body pushed to its absolute limit next time.

But first, sweet breakfast.

 **XXX**

"You don't have to follow me around the whole time you know. I'm just going to visit Chad for a bit."

Rukia was annoyingly persistent though, more so than usual for some reason.

"I need to be around for when I get another hollow alert and why are we going to him? Shouldn't we go to school today?"

"It's Saturday. Saturday and Sunday are free days from school."

A stray thought hit Ichigo.

"Why don't I have one of those phones? I already have a gikon so why not that?"

Rukia looked annoyed and the beginnings of suspicion were starting to grow along with that annoyance. Ichigo was very persistent to be as self-sufficient as he could be to the point where eventually she wouldn't be needed at all. Why was he trying so hard to be alone?

Ichigo saw and understood the look she was giving him and only felt worse because of it. He really didn't like keeping her in the dark. But they weren't nearly as close as they had been in Ichigo's time. They technically only met 2 days ago so it was too soon, way too soon.

"I'm not trying to get rid of you or anything."

Sadly he was.

"But you do vanish of too god knows where in the night so it would be good if I could respond to a hollow attack immediately if one came in at night."

Annoyance gave way to understanding, luckily, and a superior air.

"You don't have to worry about that. I'll be right there with you if a hollow shows up at night."

She was right of course but she didn't need to act like staying in someone's closet was a good thing.

"Anyway were here."

Here being an ordinary 2 story apartment complex where Chad lived.

"Chad isn't extremely social, especially not if he doesn't know you. I just have to invite him to a party I'm going to tonight so I won't be long."

They stopped at the stairs to the second story, Rukia looking at Ichigo in half surprise, half annoyance again.

"Party? What party? What if a hollow shows up tonight?"

He definitely needed to find a way around this. Excuses only went so far.

"It's at a night club in town. One of Keigo's brilliant ideas and one I'm not going to accept again if I can help it. I'm asking Chad with me just so I can stay sane. I'll show you where it is on a map before I leave, it's not very far from home so if one does show up you can go and get me out of there early."

The next hollow attack was tomorrow night so no problems there.

Rukia accepted it but not without the necessary displeasure towards him.

"Fine then."

"Don't be like that. I have nothing planned for the rest of the day so I'll take you around so you can get to know Karakura a bit more."

Quickly moving up the stairs before she could deny the time off, Ichigo still heard her halfhearted reply.

"You don't have to show me around, I can keep myself busy."

Knocking on the door to Chad's home Ichigo quickly called back.

"I know I don't have to but I want to. So just wait a bit I'll be right back."

Rukia didn't answer that. Unexplainably happy to be around Ichigo for a bit longer while also pleased to hear that she didn't have to wander around doing nothing for the rest of the day. Training him was going to be one of her primary occupations but that had proven unnecessary real quickly.

On Ichigo's side the door opened showing a surprised Chad standing there.

"Ichigo?"

Ichigo was reluctant to pull one of his closest friends into the events he was going to create but he couldn't deny that he needed Chad's help and that the possibility of keeping Chad out of this was absolute zero.

Besides, he had once tried to protect Chad and push him away from every fight, momentarily forgetting his promise that they would help protect each other and what the other valued. As long as either of them was in danger the other was in it too. There was no keeping Chad out of this nor should there be any reason to. Chad would be stronger, strong enough to keep his side of their promise, Ichigo would make sure of that and keep his side as well. They would protect each other and get through this together.

"Do you have time to talk?"

Chad knew Ichigo more than well enough to see the obvious seriousness that he hadn't ever seen before to such a degree.

Nodding Chad moved back inside letting Ichigo follow him at his leisure.

Ichigo closed the door and moved inside towards the living room, sitting down next to where Chad was already seated.

Chad seemed ready to fight as soon as Ichigo asked him too, completely prepared for the worst. Sadly the worst Chad could imagine wasn't anywhere near the trouble he was stepping in.

Even though Ichigo had already thought about how he was going to say this in advance. Standing here in the flesh was immensely harder. Asking a friend, even if it was one who had already vowed to help and the answer was automatically yes, to enter a dangerous and lethal plot like the one Ichigo was creating was infinitely harder than anything he could be doing that only threatened his own life.

"I'm not the same Ichigo you know, not completely. I'm Ichigo from nearly 2 years into the future."

Beneath Chad's stray bangs of hair his eyes clearly widened, his entire posture stiffening. Ichigo made sure that his serious eyes never left Chad's so he knew that he wasn't kidding. Chad's eyes were shifting in focus looking at every aspect of Ichigo in the hopes to find any sign that he had misheard, that Ichigo was joking or straight up lying even though there was no reason to, that this person in front of him wasn't really Ichigo but slowly he started to look for any sign that this was indeed an older, different version of his best friend.

Even though Chad was usually silent the silence that was there now was noticeably different. A heavier more pronounced kind.

It took 20 seconds for the silence to feel normal again.

Another 15 seconds later Chad nodded, his eyes never lowering from there serious, attentive stare.

"How can I help?"

And that was it. 35 seconds and Chad was completely alright with the revelation, taking Ichigo's serious disposition as a question for help and instantly giving it in turn. All his trust and faith on display for Ichigo to take whatever he wished.

Ichigo had many friends, many of them truly good friends who would fight for him and give their lives for him. But Chad was his oldest friend, the very first who had promised to fight for Ichigo and anything he considered worth fighting for. He had never broken his promise, not once, not even when Ichigo himself had tried to push him away, not even when Ichigo had forgotten about it, Chad continued to push himself no matter how far behind he was, no matter how little he was able to help, he tried.

The definition of a best friend. Chad.

Ichigo couldn't help but smile.

"You have no idea how great you are Chad."

Chad was taken aback not knowing how to deal with such heartfelt, meaningful words. Especially not from Ichigo.

"There's a group of people that I'm seeing tonight, I told them that I'm from the future yesterday. I knew them back in my time and I'll be needing their help. Tonight I'm going to tell them everything that happened and I want you to be there for that. I can fill you in on everything they already know on our way over there."

Chad nodded somehow conveying with his eyes alone that he knew his whole world was going to change and only thinking of how to grow strong enough to face it.

"I'll come back at 9pm to get you. We'll probably be gone for a long time and you'll be going there a lot more. Those people are the ones who will help you get stronger."

Chad nodded, interested in the concept of becoming stronger and what exactly that entailed.

More than satisfied, Ichigo got up and moved for the door again, getting ready to relax his tired mind a bit by showing Rukia around town and having fun at her expense with all the things she either didn't know existed or had no idea how to use or interact with.

Shinigami were very anti progress even when all they had to do was study and copy what humans had already done for them.

Opening the door again Ichigo looked back. Chad hadn't followed him, hadn't even gotten off the couch probably still silently reeling from having his life turned around in less than 5 minutes with his first initiation into it being half a day away.

"Thanks Chad."

There was no response. None was needed. Chad was perfectly fine with it and probably didn't even think himself worthy of thanks until he had helped Ichigo fulfill his mission. Nevertheless thanks were the least he could give for simply accepting to start on this hell ride.

"Alright midget lets go to town. Follow me."

Ichigo promptly took off running with Rukia instantly hot on his heels and gaining.

 **XXX**

It was midday when they stopped their tour of Karakura. Rukia had been enticed with all the technology she had probably already seen but never interacted with. Witch led to its fair share of amusing situations. Right now they were sitting at a small ramen stand having just finished their meal.

"You know, you sure hit hard without any powers."

Ichigo grumbled holding his soda against his bruised cheek which wouldn't heal even though it had been 3 hours already.

"Stop whining, I didn't hit you that hard trust me."

Oddly enough no matter how much stronger either of them got Rukia's punches when she was fueled by anger or downright rage depending from comments on her drawing or height, they always hurt the same high amount. Weird.

"Where do you usually eat when you're not using my money?"

A small glare was his first reply.

"I usually don't eat like this. I have special food supplements for this gigai so that I can gain my power back gradually. Gigai's don't really need food the same way human body's do. We can eat like this if we want to since we can still taste everything we eat but we don't have to."

"You don't get a lot of yen to spend either then I take it?"

Rukia looked slightly embarrassed at that.

"Normally not but my brother gives me a bit more so I can hire an apartment to stay in if necessary."

Ichigo was actually surprised at that even though he shouldn't be. As cold as Byakuya liked to act around Rukia, especially in the beginning, giving her enough money to be able to stay in a place alone was almost a necessity to be honest. The fact that shinigami usually didn't get this and had to find their own place to stay by intruding on other people was quite odd.

However, if Byakuya ever found out that Rukia was staying in a teenage boy's bedroom closet he would find himself a beautiful death by Senbonzakura. Actually better make sure that didn't happen.

"And yet you chose my bedroom closet above that. I'm touched."

Rukia had the decency to blush.

"Idiot, that's not the reason! I have to be there with you when a hollow shows up!"

Realization hit her a bit later.

"Wait, how do you even know that I stay in your closet?"

"People tend to use the closets they have in their room from time to time. You were still asleep when I saw you last night when I got back so I didn't wake you up."

"But you asked for a denreishinki, just a few hours ago, because you didn't know where I stayed at night."

"That's because I wanted one and I reckoned you wouldn't give me one otherwise. But it seems that you'd rather sleep with me inst-"

Ichigo found his teasing interrupted and a beautiful blue sky laying in his vision with a contrasting hard floor on his back and his chin likely broken.

Well, if that didn't secure him nothing would.

Before Ichigo could get up he saw two birds sailing through the sky.

Birds, bird, Kon, shit.

Ichigo jumped back up, took his chair and sat back down next to a fuming Rukia. His face safely blank.

"It was a joke."

Was Ichigo's defensive answer.

"That punch wasn't."

Was her answer.

"No kidding."

They never were.

Ichigo feigned a startled look and took out his cellphone. Opening the first text he could find.

"Huh, Chad needs my help apparently."

Rukia's mock anger quickly faded.

"With what?"

"He didn't say. Must be something personal."

Ichigo frowned

"Looks like I'll have to show you the rest some other time. You think you'll be fine without me?"

"Don't push me strawberry."

Ichigo was taken aback by that last statement as evident by him almost reeling back in shock. Not finding the right words he chose to glare.

Rukia seemed immensely pleased with it.

"Go, I'll see you later."

Putting his phone away and dropping the money on the counter for both of them Ichigo moved back towards Chad's place.

'We have a problem Ichigo.'

Of course they did.

'What is it Yhwach?'

'The hogyoku within Rukia is awake.'

That stopped Ichigo dead in his tracks.

'What! How?! Why?!'

'I imagine our exposure to the hogyoku and use of it must have left its mark, one only the hogyoku can recognize. It is not actually doing anything to my knowledge. Since this is only Urahara's hogyoku and not the fusion of both from our time it is likely unable to express itself in the same way or it would have done so already. For now it is merely active and awake whenever we are near it, staring at us I assume.'

'Even if it's not doing anything yet-'

And that was a big if that shouldn't be there.

'-Urahara can probably tell that its awake.'

'Yes, I doubt he can guess that we are from the future but his interest in us and his scrutiny of Rukia will increase, no doubt.'

He really didn't need that right now.

'Why right now and not sooner? We've been around Rukia for most of yesterday.'

'I'm unsure. Perhaps it needed time to awake or perhaps I simply couldn't sense it back then and only now after enough exposure. When it happened is irrelevant however, either Urahara already knows or will know soon enough. We must find a way to either put the hogyoku back to sleep, make its presence unnoticeable or prove to Urahara that he doesn't have to or shouldn't meddle with this and leave things as they are.'

'We'll deal with Kon first, that's something I want done with as fast as possible. Tomorrow we'll head over to Urahara and see how he reacts. If his reaction from yesterday was anything to go on, I'd say he already knows about the hogyoku being active and since he hasn't done anything he should know that the hogyoku isn't actually doing anything, yet.'

'I have come to the same conclusion but I think it is likely that the hogyoku is trying to be around you as much as possible as such it is possible that Rukia's high persistence in following you is a direct cause from that.'

Even Ichigo's thoughts ran silent at that.

'Is… Is the hogyoku altering Rukia's mind?'

Even in his mind Yhwach could tell that the question was a very quiet and cautious one, fearful of the answer it could get.

'The hogyoku currently can't alter or use someone's emotions. It is likely that it itself wants to communicate with you but doesn't know how. Right now it can only try to find a way and the only way to do that is if you are present therefore it pushes you to the forefront of Rukia's mind. If Rukia herself didn't want anything to do with you than her remembering you wouldn't change anything. It is because she does want to be around you and get to know you that her constant thinking of you is making her more persistent.'

Ichigo sighed in relief, relaxing his previously tense muscles.

'We need to cut the connection between it and us. We need Urahara's help later on and he's not going to trust us like this. That is if he doesn't decide to get the hogyoku back, which can't happen. The hogyoku has to stay in Rukia.'

As painful as it was they needed to get inside the soul society and fight the other captains with a good enough excuse that they wouldn't become wanted men afterwards. The last time saving Rukia and uncovering Aizen's betrayal had done the trick. Getting the hogyoku back was likely the only reason Urahara decided to help bring them there as well.

'Focus on your current goal Ichigo, we will plan afterwards. As long as you move forward and never give up you will succeed, as you always have.'

A mental nod, or as good as Ichigo could imagine one, and Ichigo was on the move again looking for a high enough, empty rooftop.

 **XXX**

"Uhm, Ichigo I'm really happy that you're looking for my bird body and I'm sure you don't want to kill a living one so why exactly are we on a rooftop looking at the sky? Dead birds are usually on the ground somewhere, they don't stay in the air."

If Ichigo wasn't focusing as hard as he was he would have wacked Kon hard enough to launch his pill form all the way down to the ground.

"Dangerous question. Are you really telling me that dead birds don't fly as if I don't already know that?"

Kon got the hint.

"Uhm no, just that its odd is all. Are you waiting for a bird to die in midair, so we are sure that it can still fly, and then catch it before it falls? That would explain why we've been sitting here for so long, but you have your eyes closed so that won't really work you know."

Ichigo opened one eye to look at Kon dangerously. Kon himself was smirking clearly just trying to rile Ichigo up. Still Ichigo kept his stare on him until the smirk disappeared and Kon nicely sat himself down next to him.

"I'm not looking for a dead bird. I'm looking for a living one."

Which was by now more difficult than just walking the streets in search for a dead one. Reason being, his shinigami body felt like absolute crap. Ichigo had to constantly feed reiatsu into his muscles to strengthen them enough so he could move around. Shunpo was almost impossible to do, moving only as fast as Ichigo could previously go at normal speed. Which was still fast enough since shinigami could move insanely fast even without shunpo. But the rate that things were going down showed that Yhwach was definitely right. If this kept up Ichigo would explode in under a week. By tomorrow he probably wouldn't even be able to move around in his shinigami body anymore.

So a difficult tracking skill like Reiraku was almost impossible to do. He could only manifest a few ribbons at the same time, which were so light that they weren't even visible only barely noticeable to the user, making his search more fragmented than the usual search of the entirety of Karakura. The fact that his target was probably moving around made it insanely more difficult.

THERE.

Lashing out with a hand and almost stabbing his own eye out, Ichigo tightly grabbed the white ribbon.

"Finally, found it!"

Kon was confused, he was just about to yell at Ichigo that they weren't taking an innocent birds life when Ichigo nearly stabbed his eye out with a finger and was now waving a shaky fist in his face.

Ichigo paid Kon no heed and promptly leaped on the air moving to his destination.

"Kon stay there."

A rather useless command since if Kon did jump down from this height he would break his legs, enhanced leg strength or not.

Ichigo was long gone though and soon arrived at his destination, which wasn't so far from where they were initially. Standing several hundred feet in the air.

He let his ability to stand on the air fade and fell.

There was no point in making this another long, drawn out battle and in his current state he wasn't sure he would have a clear victory either.

Ichigo saw his target, lazily flying in the air.

Shinigami body's didn't have any problem with wind resistance or drying eyes like human body's do so he could spot the exact moment the muscles contracted signifying that his target had sensed or smelled him.

Ichigo didn't waste a second and went as fast as his shunpo could boost his speed.

The landing was hard, not having any time to steady himself but only able to put his legs beneath him, especially with how his body was now, Ichigo found himself standing in a small crater made in the pavement of the road he fell on.

But his plan had worked. Shrieker didn't stand a chance and had his mask cut in half before he was able to react.

Slowly straitening himself from his bent over position. Ichigo moved forward, very carefully so as to not increase the burning pain in his legs. Just in time to see the gates of hell sliding open.

Ichigo looked on intently focusing all of his senses on the gate in front of him, memorizing every detail he could.

Shrieker's shrieks stopped when he was stabbed but Ichigo paid him no mind, focusing instead on the blade, the arm, the black armor hanging over it and then the face.

The face of hell itself stared back at him and laughed. Ichigo wasn't sure what it was really laughing at. Shrieker, him or both?

The laughing abruptly stopped while the gates started slowly sliding closed again. Ichigo himself didn't really take notice focusing on hell's eyes instead. They weren't filled with malice anymore and while Ichigo still couldn't place most of the emotions or feelings he saw in them he could tell that hell was searching for something in his eyes just as much as Ichigo was and with the same level of success. They stayed like that until the gates closed, red eyes staring at red eyes.

With the doors closed everything started to collapse and Ichigo's eyes changed back into their normal brown. Never noticing that they had changed in the first place.

"Uh, mister?"

Breaking his stare contest with the air in favor of looking at Shibata Ichigo left hell to another part of his mind for later. Right now he had Shibata to help.

"It's okay little guy. I'm a shinigami. I help souls move over to the spirit world where they can continue on living and go back to all their family and friends that they lost here."

Shibata looked as happy as a cockatiel could.

"I'm going to see my mama again?!"

Ichigo smiled.

"Yep, you'll find her there I promise. So, are you ready."

Shibata closed his eyes determined and ready to go back.

Ichigo opened his cage and lightly hit him on the head with the pommel of his zanpakuto performing Konso.

 **XXX**

"There you are, what…?"

Kon lost his voice when he saw Ichigo arrive with a bird cage in hand.

"Don't freak out now, I didn't kill it. There was a human soul trapped inside of the bird that I set free. The bird's original soul was ejected before the human soul went in. So now all that's left is a perfectly fine bird vessel."

Ichigo put the cage down and opened the door. Just then a pill rolled right in front of it and his human body fell down on the ground.

He couldn't bring himself to be even remotely annoyed by it. Kon was eager and happy to have a body that was his own.

Picking up the pill Ichigo put it inside the bird's mouth and leaned its head backwards so it would roll down its throat. The head jerked out of his grasp and slowly Kon stood up experimentally moving his wings around.

Ichigo stood upright looking on with a smile as Kon slowly, carefully moved to stand in the cage opening.

One unbelievable look back at Ichigo and a nod for Kon.

And he was off, soaring into the sky as if he had always known how to fly. With only the cage holding him back.

Kon was free and Ichigo found himself wondering if it was starting to rain or if birds could cry from happiness.

* * *

 **Thanks again for all the support this story is getting!**

 **I'm glad people liked the second chapter since it was a 10K long, non action chapter (which is gonna hapen more often like this one), unlike the first one (chapters with more action in them will follow as well of course). I was kind of afraid people would find it too boring because of that or that my writing would go downhill or something. But people liked it so I hope you liked this one to.**

 **Chapters will likely be around 10K words from here on.**

 **Please continue to let me know what you think about the story, writing style and so on so I can continue to improve!**

 **See ya!**


	4. Welcome to our Xcution

**I do not own anything from Bleach**

 **Author's Note is at the end**

* * *

An old, dilapidated apartment complex. That was the place where a past future would be explained and a new one would be made. The place where Chad would gain the strength necessary to help shape that future and protect the one who was responsible for its creation.

A strange sort of numbness had taken hold of Chad. His body and mind unable to get a handle on what was about to happen. Instead it chose to stop trying and simply open up for any new information that would come his way.

For now, they were standing outside of that building. Hiding, for lack of a better word, inside an alleyway just within visual reach of the building.

Keeping an eye on as much as possible, Chad peaked from the corner of his eyes at the still seated form of Ichigo. It had been 5 minutes since Ichigo told him to keep an eye out and sat himself down in a meditating position.

Ichigo stirred, finally awake or done preparing whatever it was he was doing.

"Everything okay?"

Chad's voice was quiet, never straying his eyes from the building in front of him.

Ichigo stretched and stood.

"Yeah, I think so. My sensing is abysmal but with fullbring it seems to be a bit easier."

Reiatsu sensing was absolutely impossible since he could barely see past his own reiatsu that was constantly streaming out of him and with the current state of his shinigami powers the only way he could still sense anything was with a technique like reiryoku and even then it barely worked. Fullbring, luckily, was easier to do, if only because he wasn't interfering with his own sensing.

Still, Ginjo wasn't kidding when he said that everything had a soul, looking through the masses of souls for the few he needed wasn't an easy task for someone like him.

It took him 5 whole minutes to find the other fullbringers only a street away. Far too long.

"Let's go inside."

Ichigo quickly noticed that Chad was still keeping stock of his surroundings, walking without his normal ease, more prepared to act if something happened.

"Relax Chad, it's alright. I wasn't expecting anything to go wrong, just being extra cautious."

He could think of no good reason why Xcution would try to lay an ambush and attack him. He knew there powers and came in peace with an offer of help. Normally that was more than enough reassurance but now Chad was here with him. What he could think off wasn't going to cut it, not until Chad could properly defend himself at the very least.

Just as expected though, they were all present, sitting around their headquarters seemingly doing nothing with none of their fullbring active as far as he could tell.

The only thing that worried him now was that something was following them. Something small, nimble and agile. Akin to a cat or dog. Which wasn't an odd sight for the place they were in. But his memory quickly provided him with the only cat he had any real connection with. And the owner of that cat would be outright dangerous to ignore.

Walking up the stairs they arrived at the third floor in front of a familiar door with a keypad. Ichigo stopped in front of it and turned around to look back at the stairs.

For half a minute nothing followed.

"Ichigo?"

Chad was staring at the same place he was, looking for anything out of the ordinary.

Nothing was following them but still paranoia had well taken hold of him by now.

"It's nothing."

Ichigo mumbled turning around and taking his wallet from his pocket. Picking out a random card, his bank card he noted, he made a swipe motion in front of the keycard opening and pretended to press some buttons. Putting his other hand on the door in the meantime to really open it the same way he had done so before.

The door clicked open again and Ichigo instantly had all eyes on him, only shifting to Chad for a few moments before boring on him again.

They looked interested, some of them burning with questions but most importantly they looked good. None of the defeat and forlornness was present in any of them. They had all found some measure of peace or a new way to move on.

"Yo."

Once Chad was in Ichigo quickly closed the door.

"Ginjo what's that door made of?"

Ginjo's annoyance at the simple greeting quickly gave way for seriousness with such a question.

"Stronger than a normal house door, no normal human can kick it in or lock pick it with the keypad. It's also mostly sound proof but if anyone like us tries to get in they'll be able to without too much effort."

Sound proof was good but maybe not good enough?

"Giriko can you place a contract around the door opening? If any living being who is not a fullbringer stands within 2 feet of that door for longer than 3 seconds the keypad flashes green continuously and whatever alarm you have installed on it goes off until they leave."

"I can but I request your attention later today in compensation."

"Sure. Can you keep the contract active until tomorrow morning?"

A pleased nod was his reply and Giriko got up, bringing his pocket watch in sight and moving for the door.

"I don't mind you bringing more of our kind in here but don't lead the ones that aren't too our headquarters."

Ichigo nodded absently, surprised that Ginjo could sense that Chad was a fullbringer so easily.

"There might be someone following me around but I'm not sure. They have no idea that I'm a fullbringer though or even what fullbring is. They're mostly interested in the other sides of me. I'm going to talk with them tomorrow anyway."

"Still, this place is expensive. If it gets found out or trashed you're paying for a new one."

Ichigo snorted in amusement. Ginjo acted as if he owned the place even though he was sure that everything they had was bought and owned by Yukio.

"I'll ask Yukio to put it on my tab. Besides you still have the back-up base."

Yukio looked up from his game long enough to express his annoyance. None of them were even remotely surprised that Ichigo knew about their secondary base.

The precautions aside Ichigo could continue on with what he was really here for.

"This is Chad. He's a very good friend of mine and a fullbringer who hasn't accessed his powers yet. He knows the basics about fullbring along with the basic info about hollows, shinigami and so on but he is new to all of this. He also knows that I'm from the future so no need to hold it a secret."

Some actually looked surprised at the last part.

"Not everybody I bring here is necessarily going to know about my time travelling. So try and be discreet about that."

None looked like they would give it much thought.

Bastards.

Giriko walked back to Ichigo, ready for Ichigo to lend him his help.

"I'm going to tell all of you about some important points of the future and what I intend to do, I'd rather do that first if it's okay?"

Giriko nodded without problem and moved to his standard position at the bar.

"Of course Ichigo-san, would you or your companion like something to drink?"

"No thanks."

Chad shook his head to convey the same answer.

Ichigo sat himself down on the couch with Chad taking the place next to him.

The other fullbringers weren't as guarded as before, not taking up any kind of tactical position. Most just remained where they were with only Ginjo and Tsukishima sitting on the couch in front of them.

They weren't as relaxed as they appeared to be however. Every one of them looked at Ichigo in interest but it was more reluctant than before. They wanted to know what would happen in the future but they weren't very eager or hopeful for the answers they'd be getting.

"I can tell you about this later if you want? Nothing's going to happen any time soon so there's still time for you to get used to this."

Ginjo tsked and Tsukishima looked annoyed as well.

"No need to hold our hand for this, we can handle it. I told you, give me a day and I'll be fine. Ones I've made a decision I stick to it. That goes for all of us. We've all had our fair share of trouble way before we should have. We can handle this too."

All of them looked like they really meant it. They had made their decision on what to do next and apparently knowing more about the future was part of that.

"Right, in 3 months' time the shinigami that gave me her power is going to be arrested and taken back to the Soul Society to be trialed. The sentence will be death."

Chad was the only one who looked concerned about that. Although Riruka looked slightly disgusted the others clearly didn't care much about what happened with some random shinigami.

"The man who arranged all of that is Sosuke Aizen. He will kill all members of Central 46 and take over their function in secret to give the order."

Ginjo was the only one who understood the full gravity of that statement. The other members luckily had some knowledge about the afterlife if their surprise was anything to go on.

Ichigo gave a quick look to Chad to make sure he understood. His eyes told him he did.

"What Aizen is really after is what's currently inside of Rukia. The hogyoku. A stone of some kind that was created by Urahara Kisuke, an exile shinigami captain who lives in Karakura town."

The severity of that last part seemed to shake the Xcution members awake.

"There's a captain living in the town next to us?!"

"Relax Ginjo, he's on my side."

Hopefully.

"And he doesn't know anything about any of you or what fullbring is. He's not interested in any of that right now. Right now he's only looking after his creation. He might have made it but he has chosen to destroy it once he knew the full weight of his creation. Sadly the hogyoku can't be destroyed, according to him, so he tried to seal it away in the shinigami I told you about. She's in a gigai that slowly drains her power until she is left as a normal human with the hogyoku drained and inactive within her."

Ginjo seemed to calm down again, taking Ichigo's words to be the truth far more easily than Ichigo expected him to.

Riruka seemed to have picked something up however.

"Wait, isn't he the guy that got me and Yukio to the Soul Society to help you out?"

"Yeah that's him. He only knew about any of you when you went to Karakura town to investigate me. He keeps a close eye on the place."

Ichigo would have to inspect all of their expressions for the next part.

"The reason why the hogyoku is such a big deal is because it grants its user anything they wish for if they are able or know how to achieve it."

The surprise was palpable.

"You're kidding."

It wasn't even a question, just a hopeful statement.

"I'm not. The hogyoku listens to everyone around it and gives people what they most desire if they have the ability to achieve it or the knowledge. Back in my time it awakened Chad's fullbring when he lamented that he couldn't defend people from hollows. It awakened another one of my friends unique powers as well when she felt the same way. Once Aizen got his hands on it and subjugated it to solely his will. He was able to literally evolve and transcend multiple times in order to gain more power."

While most people seemed to understand the danger behind such an object. Giriko looked disturbingly interested. Power was clearly still on his mind for now. Yukio looked like he had eaten something rotten.

"Sounds like a cheat engine for real life. That's just sad."

And he was back to his game, engrossed once again. Ichigo was glad for the casual dismissal and downright distaste for the hogyoku but Yukio was one of the people he feared who might try to make use of it.

"I honestly thought you would be more interested in it. You're always very pleased when you can demonstrate how much control you have over your game world."

Yukio looked slightly embarrassed at that.

"Well, that's because it's my game. I created it so I should be able to choose what happens in it. It's my power."

It made Ichigo reconsider Yukio's game console.

"Wait, that's not the same game your constantly playing? Invaders must die?"

Yukio looked completely puzzled.

"Huh? Invaders must die is just the name of my fullbring. It has nothing to do with what game I play. This console is part of my fullbring not the game. I make whatever game I want to with whatever rules I like. I don't just play video games all the time, I'm a game creator. The hogyoku is just like someone hacking my game just because they can't handle the rules. Of course I think it's pathetic."

Ichigo found himself surprised and stupid for doing the one thing he always hated other people doing. Assuming things just because they were a stereotype.

"Right, sorry. My bad."

Ginjo picked up where they left off again.

"So is he the guy that invaded the Soul Society?"

"No, that was a little over a year after we defeated and sealed Aizen. Yhwach along with an army of quincy's attacked the Soul Society and even the Royal Palace where the Soul King lives. Destroyed most of both and killed the captain commander and the Soul King. I went back in time after I killed him."

That last bit might have been too much information, too fast. Everyone was shocked, most because Ichigo was apparently strong enough to defeat someone like that. But Ginjo was outright mind blown, having some knowledge of the insurmountable strength of the captain commander and of course assuming the Soul King to be stronger. Both of those defeated along with both of their armies was a hard thing to imagine. Ichigo then still winning and defeating Yhwach even more so.

Although now that his mind caught up with him a bit more, he should have been surprised sooner since this Aizen guy apparently evolved and transcended multiple times and was then defeated by, most likely, Ichigo.

"I couldn't do anything on my own though. Like Riruka and Yukio, many people helped me along the way to get there. You and Tsukishima included."

"What? But we were dead."

"True and I think Urahara had a hand in getting you up to the Royal Palace, your soul forms. Tsukishima used his ability to help a friend of mine repair my bankai after Yhwach broke it. I went down to the Soul Society again for our final battle and well, then this happened."

Ichigo took on a pensive look.

"So technically you didn't do anything Ginjo."

Ginjo's annoyance quickly abated at the still incomplete story.

"Anyway, sounds to me like everything turned out alright in the end. No, 'The world was going to end and going back in time was the only option' stuff, you seem to have won all your battles, so why are you back?"

Instantly Ichigo's eyes grew serious, capturing his audience and refusing for any of them to look away, a red color bleeding into them.

"The world was already broken when I was asked to save it. Quincy's were considered extinct back then and they were near extinction again at the end. Hollows and arrancars were seen as no different from one another. People still turn into hollows and were killed by them. The Rukongai is and has always been a mess with even fewer shinigami to help the people there after the war. I saved a world that was barely one to begin with. I fought only for those around me and ignorantly forgot those that I couldn't see but knew were still suffering."

Ichigo's voice was heavier, more commanding than anyone had ever heard before. No one was able to get a word in edgewise feeling that anything they could comment would be instantly shot down without mercy.

"I didn't save the world, I only tied it together long enough so those after me would have to deal with it. So no, the world wasn't going to end. There was never a real world to begin with, only bits and pieces. And yes, going back in time was the only option to create the world as it should have been. So that's exactly what I did."

The red disappeared again in an instant, breaking everyone out of there previous trance induced state. The words engraved into their minds, never to be forgotten.

Ginjo, as was the standard, spoke up as the leader again.

"So that's it huh? Redo all your previous battles and somehow change how the entire world works? Whatever your plans are you're not going to get anywhere near the end with just our help."

Ichigo agreed completely.

"I can't do this on my own. I can't do this with all of you. I can't do this with all of my friends and I never intended to. Aizen, Yhwach, the Soul King. They're always convinced that they need to grow stronger in order to solve the world's problems and that they are the only one who can. But I honestly don't see it. No matter how strong I get there's no way I can change the world and the way everyone thinks. This is not just my world, it's yours and everyone else's too. So I need your help and I'll need a lot more help from other people as well but if we don't work together for this then none of us will make it."

The room was silent again, everyone had expected some crazy or doomsday like time travel story, not this. No one could have expected to be asked to be a part of changing the world.

"You can have my help if you want it. But I need yours afterwards."

Ichigo hadn't expected Jackie's first words to him to be those.

Apparently neither did any of the other members.

"You have all of our help, for now."

Ginjo's words were surprising but also worrying, his frown and narrowed eyes broadcasting a deal with no compromise.

"If this is going to be a world that we help create then we want a place in it too. We all have our own goals that we want to achieve in life and you're going to help us with those. You can't make us do anything we don't want to do either, not all of us are as free giving as Jackie, apparently."

The last word was spoken with no malice but more with surprise.

Ichigo could only nod gratefully.

"That's all I'm asking. I'll help all of you and I only need all of your help for safe things. I could use your help for more along the way but if you don't want to or if it becomes too dangerous then I'll do it without you, no issue."

With the deal closed Ginjo fell back to his more relaxed self.

"Well since you said nothing exciting is going to happen in the next few months and your obviously stronger than me I'm going to take a break."

Ginjo got up and threw a card at Ichigo that he quickly caught and recognized.

"I don't think I need to tell you how to get in the normal way. You can come over here whenever you want, there's always someone present. Just don't bring any unwanted folks with you."

With Ginjo gone to do some more drinking. Giriko moved towards him with purpose.

"Since I was the first to request your help and give mine in return I must insist on speaking with you first."

Ichigo nodded casting a look at the surprisingly subdued Riruka first.

"Riruka, can you use your dollhouse to help Chad awaken his fullbring? This is just training so no need to add any unnecessary risks."

Addressing her directly seemed to kick-start Riruka's temper again.

"I'll have to see if he's cute enough before I can give him a pass. I only accept cute things in my precious dollhouse."

"Huh, really? I never knew. You gave me a pass whenever I asked or needed one before without a fuss."

Somehow his words were bringing Riruka's head up to boiling point. She was even worse than Orihime at times.

"You- that's not- CHAD! Get over here now!"

Riruka stormed off to get her dollhouse and Ichigo threw a worried and guilty glance at Chad. He just made things worse as he always did with woman.

"How long did it take for you to awaken your fullbring?"

Chad obviously didn't share his worry even though he and Riruka were complete opposites, Riruka wasn't good enough to break Chad's composure no matter what she tried though.

"Uh, one session of Riruka's dollhouse. But that was just awakening not mastering, not even close."

Chad nodded and moved forward, armed with a clear goal of what he had to achieve and when.

Chad would be alright, without Giriko's added difficulty there was nothing that he couldn't handle.

Giriko sat down in front of him and Ichigo gave him his full attention in return.

"I want you to tell me everything you know about my fullbring and how you think it works along with my exact appearance and how my powers felt when Ginjo bestowed me with a portion of yours. Knowing how your fullbring functions would help with this as well."

"This is still all about power isn't it?"

"Survival would be a more apt term."

"I'm going to create a world where there's more than solely survival."

"And I would welcome it with open arms but I have yet to see any proof towards your claims. You have the knowledge and supposedly the power to bring forth change but as you said you will need much more than that. If you want me to fully belief in your vision than I will both need more power to help you with and proof that you can actually change anything of any significance."

Ichigo couldn't really deny the man's words. Right now he hadn't done anything, only gathering allies and help where he knew he could get them early on and fixing whatever problems there still were with his own body. He hadn't really achieved anything just yet.

Giriko would be much like Urahara in that aspect. Only a true ally once he saw Ichigo's words turned into actions.

"I can understand survival but what were you planning on doing after you gained that?"

Giriko was silent for a moment. Absently he took out his golden pocket watch, opened it and simply watched the dial move.

"I can choose a contract and the conditions but I can't change or remove them nor break it. That's not even entirely true. You can always chose to break the conditions or ignore the contract. There's just always a punishment for doing so as is custom for any contract. Simply put I'm not really using my own power. This watch gives me power when I ask it and if its power is abused in any way then it retaliates. My power in and of itself is nothing more but another contract. A contract that will last until my time is up, that I can use the powers of this watch."

Closing the watch again Giriko put it away and continued.

"The watch has been passed down from generation to generation. I believe that the first user of the watch had a fullbring and that up until now there have been no other fullbringers in my family. This power is not my own but the fullbring of a family relative long before me."

"This watch has always been the only god in my life. Sometime after I grew up and had everything I could have ever wanted in my life, a perfect, safe, well payed job, a wife, a house, I started to belief that it was my power, that I made my own luck, that the watch gave me the drive to achieve what I set out to do."

His hand moved up to the leather strap covering his eye. And he pulled.

A gaping hole could be seen where the eye was supposed to be, leaving nothing but burned, seared flesh in its place.

"The watch reminded me that it wasn't my power at all. Instead of using the watch as the source of my fullbring it transferred all its power directly to me. With such power as my own I lost myself and tested out the simplest clause I could as fast as possible. To kill the first thing I saw, my wife."

Giriko had never appeared to be a man of much emotion but right now he was almost overwhelmed, every word he spoke was visibly difficult for him. A life-long regret he never believed he could make up for.

"When I lost my commitment to kill my wife it was considered a breach of contract, my eye was destroyed and the watch retook its power."

The strap was stretched over the wound again.

"I made a commitment to the watch and its powers the moment I accepted it from my father. To live with the watch as my only god and most treasured possession. If I break that commitment I will burn and die. I'm a slave to always worship my fullbring and pay tribute to it by granting it power whenever available."

Giriko pushed his emotions back down with practiced ease, gaining more determination in doing so.

"My hope is that if I gain more power I can break my commitment to the watch, transfer its power to me or destroy it all together. I want to survive on my own terms so I can go back to my life again, back to my wife."

Ichigo's eyes, already widened, widened further.

"Your wife's alive?"

The question was nearly as silent as the wordless nod he got in return.

"If a contract is broken a penalty will be met but after that the contract no longer takes hold. But…"

Giriko's voice trailed off unable and unwilling to bring memories of that time back up again.

Giriko was a hard man to read and Ichigo was sure that when he saw him express himself when he gained more power through Ginjo that Giriko was just another power hungry maniac. But thinking back on it now.

"I don't think that gaining more power is the way to go for you Giriko. When you gained part of my power your fullbring extended from your watch to your entire body, you even had 12 floating spheres hanging around you resembling a clock. Increasing your power means increasing the power of your fullbring. Stronger contracts usually have higher penalties to them the same is likely true for your commitment to your watch. I think what you need to focus on is more control."

Giriko was listening, not even trying to deny his words, that was good.

"I think what you need to do is either extend your control from making contracts to changing contracts or find a way to outsmart your own power with a specific or series of contracts in place. You said that your watch transferred its power to you once so you should be able to force it to do so again on your own terms without losing control."

Giriko took a moment to digest that.

"If more power won't help me achieve my goal than I will state my request clearer. Help me achieve my goal in whatever way possible and you will have my full support."

Ichigo nodded in consent, he wasn't smart enough to analyze Giriko's power and what exactly committing yourself to a god meant but he knew someone who was.

"I have an idea but it might take a few days before it can be finalized. In the meantime try making one object a slave to another with a contract and then try to break that contract or alter its conditions by placing another one on top of it, maybe you can find a solution to your problem on your own before I do. If anything you'll get better control that way and you'll learn if you can use layered contracts. Just don't use anything on yourself or other people, only objects."

"Then I will do so."

With that Giriko got up and moved to one of the far corners of the room. Leaving with one more statement.

"Do not worry about the time it takes. I am very much aware that anything worthwhile can only be achieved with the right timing."

Yukio gave a half-hearted comment to him on his way off.

"If you burn it you pay it."

With that done Ichigo turned himself to Jackie who was waiting patiently.

"I'll help you with whatever you need if you promise me that you'll either change the way my fullbring works or get rid of it."

Dirty Boots was a very unlucky fullbring to have. Ichigo himself was silently not the biggest fan of it, Jackie should downright hate it for far more personal reasons than just aesthetics.

He had no idea how she or Renji had gotten rid of her fullbring but it had been done so it could be done again. Changing it would be more difficult but also better in the end.

"In what should I change it?"

"These boots were a gift from my father and I always kept them in perfect condition, completely clean. My fullbring was born after they were stained by my brother's blood. I don't mind the effect of my fullbring but I don't want to constantly stain my boots to gain it. So anything apart from staining them will do. I've been using it for a long time now so I can continue using it until my power is no longer needed. But if you can't change how they work in the end then remove my fullbring all together."

Ichigo wasn't an Urahara or an Aizen but he wasn't stupid either. He couldn't understand something or predict a situation with a single glance but if he had all the pieces needed he could puzzle them together pretty well.

"Well if your fullbring increases your power when your boots get dirtier than they probably work on the anger and hate you feel at that time, so more on emotions, I think. I'd ask Giriko to try and make a contract with your boots and force them to work differently but if I'm wrong and they can't be changed then they might be destroyed."

Well he was no Urahara but he did know the man.

"Anyway, I think it should be possible to change them but I'll need some time."

Time Jackie luckily wanted to give him.

"Well, tell me when you have something. I'm ready to do something more worthwhile besides just surviving."

Jackie did seem either bored or uninterested in anything happening around her for most of the time. She didn't seem to have a goal she was striving towards and even gaining more power felt more like a way to waste time to her.

His opinion of almost every fullbringer had changed but Jackie still seemed to be her usual self. She didn't have a secret agenda. She had no agenda, nothing was planned she only knew she wanted to survive from day to day. Hopefully after all this she could find something more.

"After Riruka's dollhouse training, you were the one who helped me achieve the second stage of my fullbring by fighting me. Could you do that for Chad as well?"

"Sure I'll train him in a few days once he's done with the dollhouse."

Ichigo smirked and stood up moving towards Yukio who was pretending that he wasn't listening in.

"Today. He'll be ready today."

Chad had a purpose for fighting and it was that purpose, to protect and help Ichigo, that was key to his fullbring, his arms. Ichigo had his pride in his shinigami powers but those were gone at that time so he couldn't find a way to focus that feeling until Chad helped him. Chad would quickly make the connection. He would have his fullbring awakened today there was no doubt about it.

Yukio didn't look up at Ichigo but Ichigo knew he was listening.

"I need your help."

Yukio paused his game and looked up.

"With what?"

"I need to be able to leave at night whenever I need to so I need you to create a permanent chatroom in my bedroom and make it look like an exact replica."

The request seemed to kill Yukio's interest and he once more found his console to be more interesting.

"Impossible. I can only make chatrooms inside my game console and I would need to recharge my batteries constantly."

"I know but back in my time you were able to work without batteries and you could manifest your power into the real world."

It didn't take someone as smart as Yukio to figure out what he meant by that exactly.

"I'll ask Ginjo if you accept."

Yukio was staring at him, not revealing any emotion.

"You're giving me a portion of your fullbring just so you can sneak away at night?"

Giving away a part of your fullbring was permanent. It couldn't be replenished by training or any other method besides someone else giving you a portion of their own. A fundamental part would be lost and the fullbring would downgrade. For Ichigo it probably meant that his fullbring would revert back to its second stage, permanently, or somewhere in between that and his final fullbring.

There was no other choice though, he needed Yukio and he could only help him if his fullbring evolved.

"The shinigami that I'm replacing, the one with the hogyoku inside of her, stays in my room. I need you to monitor the hogyoku inside of her and her gigai as best you can. I'll also need your help to possibly remove it from her. There are more things that you could help me with later on if you want to but you'll need my power for most of them."

Yukio was silent for a while longer as if waiting for something to happen. But whatever it was never came.

"Deal."

Ichigo turned to the bar where Ginjo was already looking at him, fully serious with a badge and a necklace dangling in his hand.

"I have never tried taking a portion of someone's power. I'm not even sure that I can."

"Then try, if you take all of it you can still share your power afterwards. Which means you can give me my power back and hold a portion for yourself to give to Yukio."

It was almost funny how easy it was to pass around powers like that. Of course the trust needed to have your powers taken and not abused was a rare thing to come by.

With a flash Ginjo's blade was summoned and he moved towards Ichigo.

They had gained the full attention of everyone present with most of them not believing what Ichigo was doing.

"Ready when you are."

Ichigo was fully prepared for this and more to come.

"You trust me enough not to just take all of your power for myself? I could also try to steal your shinigami power while I'm at it."

They already believed that Ichigo was from the future and now they believed everything that would happen in the future and everything Ichigo had done. If Ginjo tried to steal all of his power now he knew that the future really would be a doomsday scenario. There also was the fact that Ginjo was a horrible actor and he couldn't find any malice in his words.

His trust in Ginjo settled Ichigo focused on his pride. His pride for his shinigami powers had been taken an extra level higher after he knew the truth about his zanpakuto and fake zanpakuto spirit. A pride that wasn't linked to a badge any longer. He still had his power, his pride was waiting for him inside of him. Both shinigami and quincy.

With a flash of blue light Ichigo stood garbed in his familiar fullbring attire. For a short moment he took the time to acknowledge that he felt stronger than the last time he used it along with the now dual blades that were sheathed on his back. One long sword and one short.

"I trust you."

The tip of a large sword stabbing him all the way to his heart was his answer.

"Then let's do this on the first try."

There was no pain when he was stabbed, no pain when he felt the upper part of his armor tear of his body. It was working and both of them knew it.

Ginjo pulled his sword out and flashed to Yukio slashing him across his chest. And the room was blinded in light.

The light quickly faded showing three knew occupants in the room.

Ichigo had reverted back to his second stage after all. He felt stronger than he did the last time he was in this stage, much stronger but still noticeably weaker and less stable than he felt in that one moment where he could relish in his complete fullbring.

Yukio had his new attire and was looking at his gauntlets in amazement. Faint reflections of numbers were present in his eyes as if he was staring at something only he could see.

The other new occupant was surprising to most but expected for Ichigo.

Chad was standing tall and strong with the first stage of his fullbring active in the form of his Brazo Derecho Del Gigante already in its near complete form. The next stage would likely be his defensive shield form and the last one his Brazo Izquierda del Diablo. 3 stages, just like Ichigo's fullbring.

"Under 15 minutes, that's faster than me. Nice work Chad."

Ichigo was genuinely happy that Chad was improving so quickly but the next stage of his training was going to take a lot longer. Ichigo already had a lot of combat experience and he knew how to handle powers that were far stronger than the once his fullbring could give him. Chad had no experience and no idea how to work with his new found power. It would take a lot more training but they had the time for it.

"I've never felt anything like this before."

Chad was hypnotized by his newfound ability, he had every right to be since it was a large step from human to fullbringer.

"Riruka can you let Chad and Jackie use your fish tank for a little bit?"

Not needing his own fullbring Ichigo let it dissipate around him.

It was best to let Chad get accustomed to how his fullbring worked and let him explore it a bit. Otherwise it would just stay on his mind.

Riruka had been very subdued today but it seemed than any amount of direct attention was enough to break that.

"That's the second time you've asked me for help. I'll give it for now but I'm expecting something big in return!"

Ichigo was sure that she was helping him because she wanted to help but it seemed that she wasn't able to admit it just yet. Still he did promise that he would help all of them in return.

"Anything you want Riruka, just ask."

The offer seemed to stop Riruka in her tracks, maybe she did find something she might want in return?

"I'll-I'll hold you to that."

And like that she was gone off to get the fish tank, hopefully, from wherever she stored all her things.

Ichigo had no idea what she might want but this was Riruka so it wouldn't be anything bad.

More importantly Yukio had manifested several screens floating around him displaying nothing but numbers that only seemed to make sense to Yukio himself.

"Last time you knew how to use your powers and what they were instantly. How's it going now Yukio?"

The screens disappeared and Yukio looked at Ichigo with more emotion than ever before.

"I have a good idea of everything I can do right now and how. But I feel like I could do anything I want to! I'm sure if I analyze my abilities a bit more nothing will be left that I can't do!"

Hopefully Yukio's happiness wouldn't turn psychotic like it did last time.

"Oi, Yukio calm down. You're losing control of yourself."

The simple phrase was enough to put Yukio back down to earth. Clearly everyone trusted Ginjo as their leader without question which would hopefully hold along with their partnership.

He was obviously very excited with his new powers but without a clear goal for them Ichigo was sure that he would soon find that gaining more power wasn't really enough on its own.

"Right, first things first."

Yuki took off one of his headphones and threw it at Ichigo.

"I've programmed that to do everything you asked. When you get home pull off the pointy extension and drop it on the floor. It will scan the room and everything inside of it and then break apart to create an exact copy of that room within a chatroom. Unless someone decides to break down a wall they won't notice that there is a chatroom and no one will be able to sense it either. Keep the headphone disk with you. If you place it over one of your ears it will become invisible and untraceable and you'll be able to call me. I'll keep and analyze all the data of everything that happens inside the chatroom on my end."

Yukio was incredibly fast when he wanted something done and just like Ichigo suspected Yukio's fullbring was incredible if used the right way. His ability to make perfect clones of himself while hiding the original from sight or any other form of sensing alone was incredibly useful.

Although Ichigo did remember that just because Yukio said it was one way didn't mean that was absolutely true. He was sure that if he wasn't careful someone like Urahara would find some way around the supposed impossible.

"Everything within the chatroom needs to be sensable from the outside though. Can't have anyone freaking out when I suddenly drop of the map."

With a flick of his wrist another digital screen and keyboard appeared and Yukio started typing away again.

"I have to leave a permanent opening where any doors or windows are anyway so that won't be a problem."

"Thanks Yukio. I'll call you when I need anything."

"After seeing what Yukio can do after just gaining his powers it really makes me wonder how we managed to lose so badly."

Ginjo was quiet but Ichigo heard him, Ginjo expected him to as well since he was clearly waiting for an answer.

"You weren't using your abilities to their full extend, only focusing on overwhelming with raw power. Your ego boosted just as much as your fullbring did so that had a lot to do with it as well."

Ginjo couldn't help but smile.

"Well even if we didn't fight as hard as we could have the Gotei 13 must have gotten a lot stronger from what I remember. Odd but no point in trying to ignore the truth. If you find some spare time at any point I feel like I'm going to need someone to train against to get stronger myself."

They trusted him almost as much as his friends did which was good but too fast.

"Yeah sure, besides why is it that all of you are just taking everything I say as the truth? I thought you'd be a lot more skeptical?"

It was really odd not that he was unhappy about it but still this was going a bit too easy.

Giriko seemed to have heard them and chose to answer.

"Any person not currently an official member of Xcution will glow green and be paralyzed if they tell a lie. That was the condition for the contract that Ginjo asked me to place on our headquarters this afternoon."

Ichigo wasn't sure if he should be surprised that Ginjo had used his own tactic against him so quickly or that his sensing ability was even worse than he thought it was.

Ginjo looked annoyed now that the secret was spoiled but chose to elaborate, lest Ichigo got the wrong idea.

"We all decided to believe who and what you said you were since yesterday but we weren't certain yet if we could fully trust you. You could have told us a doomsday story or exaggerated the events of what might have happened in the future so we would be more inclined to help you or even have no other choice but to help you. But you didn't, you told us the complete truth and gave us the choice to help you or not even though you knew that we might say no especially since you were able to take care of most problems in the future on your own or at least without our help."

"We trusted everything you told us because we could instantly tell whether you were telling the truth or not. And now we can fully trust you even without the lie detector. You're not going to try and sacrifice us for your own goals no matter how noble they might be. Not all of us are certain that you can actually change the world like you want to but we at least trust you enough that were willing to give it a try."

Tsukishima moved back inside the room, having left somewhere in the middle of everything, and threw a familiar key card at Chad.

"From now on you can both consider yourselves members of our Xcution. Congrats!"

The difference was instantly noticeable from last time. His membership definitely felt a lot better and more real. Right now he and Chad were actual members, no strings attached.

"Thanks Ginjo. But I have something else I really need to do tonight so I'm going to have to leave for now. Yukio, Can you check if you can upgrade the base a bit more just in case something does go wrong somewhere down the line?"

Yukio nodded absently, changing screen and instantly moving on with the job.

Riruka had just entered again and Ichigo focused back on Chad.

"You'll be alright on your own here?"

Chad nodded, not fully understanding everything going on around him but far too eager to try out his new power to care right now. Ichigo seemed to have everything under control so that was more than enough, right now he had to learn how to use his new found power.

"You're going to need some time to unwind you know. Get back here when you're ready to celebrate your membership!"

With that Ichigo stepped outside. There was only one person left that he had to fill in on everything. Inoue.

He was reluctant to do so especially since they didn't know each other that well at this point in time but Inoue was a very unique and special person and somehow he knew she wouldn't turn him down. Besides with all the weird fantasies she could concoct on a moment's notice, tales of how the spirit world worked and time travel wouldn't be the craziest things she had ever imagined.

Inoue was invaluable. It was impossible to plan for everything, impossible to prepare for every possible scenario. Mistakes would be made and someone was needed to make sure that those mistakes didn't end up being permanent. A healer like Inoue was the best safety net he could ask for.

After that everyone who would believe his story was on his side. All other allies would have to follow later on when he proved himself to them through action and not tales about the past/future.

Only two problems remained that shouldn't have been there. One would be solved tonight and the other was now in the hands of the much smarter Yukio to find a solution too.

It was time to free Zangetsu.

 **XXX**

His room was quiet and empty. Rukia seemed to be asleep, her closet was completely closed and Kon was either sleeping under the stars or flying among them.

He might as well start this now.

Taking Yukio's headphone from his pocket Ichigo pulled and the extension came lose with soft click.

Putting one end on the floor and the other back in his pocket Ichigo waited.

The extension pulled itself upright, now standing vertically and shot up in the air until it was at the same height as Ichigo. A soft green hue hung around it and from that purple laser like beams shot out and scanned every inch of the room even moving through objects to scan the ones hidden behind or inside of them at will.

Ichigo desperately hoped that Rukia really was asleep for this, he had hoped for something a bit more subtle but then again he hadn't asked Yukio for any such thing.

The green light hanging around the extension turned purple and shot outwards in a familiar tessellated black purple pattern instantly covering the entire room and turning it completely dark for a moment.

With another flash his room was back, the extension was gone and light was shining in through the window again.

Everything looked alright, except for the light show the whole transformation had been a silent one and Rukia hadn't seemed to wake up at any time during it. A quick test showed that all his belongings still felt the exact same, every drawer was filled with the same material as before.

He wasn't even sure if Yukio's ability was active at all. Which meant that it had worked perfectly.

Another thing he wasn't sure about was how to call Yukio with the remaining part of his headphone.

The thing looked like it could be one of those wireless headphones that people use to call while driving so hopefully it would connect him to Yukio automatically once the stealth field around it activated.

Ichigo hopped out of his window just in case the phone wasn't muted and placed it on his right ear, waiting and hoping for something to happen.

A flash of purple shining at the edge of his sight was probably the phone turning invisible. Luckily a typical phone beeping sound soon followed. It only took one before Yukio's voice came over.

"What do you need?"

Yukio sounded annoyed probably still experimenting with his abilities.

"I need a perfect clone of myself sleeping in my bed and a private chat room, what I'm about to do might alert every world out there otherwise."

"hmm, I'll make a fake bottom in the first drawer of your desk. In there is going to be a game console like my own. Hit start and it will transport you into that chatroom. When you're in, there will be a large door on the side you enter, you can get out by going through it. Also that console is made inside of your first chatroom so you can't take it with you outside of your bedroom."

Yukio seemed to have taken his future self's failure to heart by working on his creativity with his abilities. Like creating a chatroom within a chatroom. If Ichigo somehow broke through that one he would still have the other one to make sure that he didn't destroy his home. Although any secrecy would be lost.

"Are you sure it will be able to hold me? Last time when Ginjo and I were in one it broke."

"Yes, you said that already. You most likely broke it because you reached the edges of my chatroom and caused enough damage for it to collapse. I don't know how to make them more durable yet but this one is as big as I can make it. You'll be fine."

With that Yukio ended the call and Ichigo was left on his own again.

Yukio seemed to know what he was doing so it should be fine if he stayed away from the edges.

Back in his room Ichigo soon found himself lying in his bed asleep. Since he was worse than abysmal at sensing anything he couldn't see anything wrong with the clone even if there was something but with Rukia's weakened state she wouldn't know either if she woke up sooner than expected.

The first drawer, false bottom, game console.

With the press of a button Ichigo was off and dropped into his own private world.

A very empty world.

A large, white, cube like world.

A square grid in all directions much like the first time he was absorbed inside of Yukio's console to train with Ginjo. Only this time the grid went up every wall and the entire place was white. Luckily he only needed this place to enter his inner world from otherwise he would go crazy in here.

A quick look around showed that the only real object here was the stark contrasting black door behind him.

With a thought Ichigo was in his fullbring again and sped forward towards the center of his world. Hoping all the way that his suspicions about being able to enter his inner world in fullbring were correct.

 **XXX**

The dome was coming off today.

A burning black bow and a perfect blue one were their greetings.

"Changing the type of reiryoku that you use will be relatively easy inside of your inner world. More so since you have an actual object to focus on and see what effects your actions are having. Stand on the dome and focus on the force pulling you down, imagine that force to be the energy you need and pull it towards you to form an arrow. This will grow more difficult over time since the pull you now feel strongly will continue to lessen."

The pressure within the dome hadn't stopped building and was now at a high enough level that Ichigo could barely stand on the air above it. Making those first few arrows was going to be easy like this. Still no matter how much Ichigo wanted this dome gone there were still some issues he was trying to find an answer to.

"Are you sure Zangetsu isn't going to try and destroy the dome the moment he feels it becoming weaker? And if we destroy it all of his reiatsu will still flood outwards."

Zangetsu and patience were antonym's of one another so giving him even the smallest hint that his rescue was stalled would easily set him off and might cause Ichigo's reiatsu to explode around him after all.

Ichigo was just asking for clarification not doubting that Yhwach's plan would work. Such an obvious problem wouldn't slip past his notice.

"Zangetsu will feel our presence once the dome weakens enough. He might be impatient but he is not stupid, he knows that his current way of freeing himself will work in the near future and he knows that there are no large threats waiting for us in the near future. If we work on a different, faster way of freeing him he will wait it out.

Yhwach could predict Zangetsu's every move perfectly, he wouldn't suggest this plan if he couldn't. They were both born the same day he was but unlike him they were together and knew each other since that moment. Even though Yhwach had taken over Zangetsu's rightful roll as his zanpakuto the two of them still worked together and even fused together at one point. They trusted each other, so much that one was willing to bury himself deep down inside of Ichigo and act as the enemy when he was supposed to be Ichigo's soul partner.

"I will deal with Zangetsu's reiatsu myself the same way you will deal with Rukia's."

Yhwach was able to use Zangetsu's reiatsu but only because Zangetsu was a part of them. He couldn't interfere with Rukia's shinigami powers and by extension couldn't reach Zangetsu so long as she was in the way, that was the part where Ichigo came in. Creating the opening Yhwach needed to interact with Zangetsu again and leaving it to Ichigo to destroy the dome entirely.

Ichigo focused and created his first, barely stable, arrow.

"Let's save Zangetsu."

 **XXX**

It took a long time. with every arrow Ichigo loosed he could feel the gravity pulling him down lessening. And with every arrow, focusing on it was becoming more and more difficult. Yhwach was the other way around. The more Ichigo weakened the dome the more Yhwach was able to access Zangetsu's reiatsu and shoot it outwards. They balanced each other out since Yhwach had a lot more reiatsu to deal with but also far more skill to do so.

The dome right now was almost translucent. Silhouettes off the ever present skyscrapers were clearly visible and there was no longer any noticeable force pulling him downwards. Yhwach had finished his part already and was now patiently waiting for Ichigo to finish his own. Almost.

Focusing Ichigo created one more massive arrow and shot it into the air. The first crack appeared right beneath him and he had just enough time to jump up before the entire thing broke apart and shattered into fast dissolving pieces.

There was no aftershock so Yhwach had done his part as perfect as he expected.

"You look different."

The voice was a familiar and wanted one, the action accompanying it wasn't.

Turning around swiftly Ichigo formed a long Khyber knife over his right arm and used it to block Zangetsu's incoming slash.

"Huh, a lot weaker to."

Zangetsu looked the same as the first time Ichigo had seen him. A perfect, white double of his 15 year old self. With a large, full black Khyber knife in his hand. The same as Ichigo's last zanpakuto.

"Nice to see you too Zangetsu."

Zangetsu nearly recoiled at the name, instantly sheathing his sword and relishing in a feeling only known to him.

"I never thought that hearing you say my name would feel so. Complete."

Ichigo stayed silent letting him relish in his moment that he should have had far sooner.

With a deep sigh Zangetsu focused on him again, grin back in full force.

"So what did I miss? You haven't been in any interesting battles I hope. And what's with that weak fake shinigami power?"

"Not much, no battles except for a few normal hollows and this is fullbring. You should know what it is but you weren't around when I had it."

Absently Ichigo reverted his arm back to normal and looked at his now complete inner world.

"They're taller."

It wasn't hard to guess his thoughts apparently neither was it hard to notice how notably bigger the skyscrapers of his inner city were.

"And they better be, your horse has gone up a few notches so the king better follow or he'll fall off."

Ichigo met his feral grin with a serious line.

"No more horse and king. Were partners now until we can become one again."

His feral grin became less stressed and morphed into a smile.

"Well then, as partners I'll be taking over control whenever you put our mask on. Hollow abilities are instinctive anyway so letting your instinct make use of them is only logical."

Zangetsu was showing himself far wiser than Ichigo had ever expected him to be. He did have a point and Ichigo didn't think that Zangetsu would go berserk either. Feral was still an apt description for him but he wasn't angry anymore. They were both finally at a level where Ichigo could understand and accept him and Zangetsu could be properly wielded and Ichigo was strong enough to wield him.

"Fine by me."

It felt good to finally be at peace with his soul. Thinking of his soul.

"Where did Yhwach go?"

Zangetsu seemed lost for a moment but quickly found the person that fit the name and the reason for it.

"Probably flashed to one of the flagpoles the moment the dome broke."

Zangetsu shifted his gaze to the tallest of the skyscrapers and wasted no time in flashing towards it. Ichigo followed him, incredulous at Yhwach's unhealthy preference for flagpoles.

On the tallest of the skyscrapers Ichigo's complete soul was present.

Zangetsu grinning, Ichigo alternating between barely containing his laughter and looking incredulous and Yhwach standing proud and tall on a flagpole, pretending nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Now that we are all here we must decide what course of action we will follow."

Yhwach kick started the conversation and the other two members quickly changed their moods accordingly.

"What I want to do first is solve the quincy problem. We can use Ishida and his dad to see if it works, once it does we need to make the Wandenreich aware of it. Yhwach wants to bring the worlds together and end the cycle of life and death. If we give him the solution and it doesn't impact his combat ability at all, then he'll use it and we'll be saving a lot of souls that way."

Both other parties seemed to accept this. Zangetsu wanted something else to quickly follow though.

"That's good and all but what about the hollows? We need a solution for that before the whole Aizen, Espada thing. Otherwise hate and resentment will cloud the Soul Society's judgement and they'll reject anything involving them instantly."

They didn't have the time for both nor the means. They needed more time and the only way to make it was by taking time away somewhere else.

"We need Aizen to reveal himself to the Gotei 13. So we'll wait until they realize what his plan is and then we'll take care of him ourselves. If we can prove that we can defeat 3 captains and an army of hollows on our own then we'll get the attention we need."

Yhwach nodded his agreement.

"We will need to exaggerate your already impressive growth rate. Before we defeat Aizen we must combine and transcend once more while also revealing that we know of Aizen's goal. Afterwards we will wait for the shinigami to prove themselves to us by sending the zero division."

Zangetsu's grin showed his pleasure.

"A human boy who ascended in less than half a year, knows how to make an Oken and doesn't take orders from anyone. They definitely won't let us be."

Ichigo would be someone they would want more as an ally then an enemy. Sending in the Zero division was their best shot to show him that there were even more powerful shinigami around than the Gotei 13 and to try and get him into their ranks.

"With their help we should be able to solve the hollow problem and we would be in the perfect position for our end move against Yhwach."

But that was all so far away and in too short a time.

"First things first, we need to go to Urahara and finally start learning kido. Brute force isn't always going to cut it especially now."

Yhwach assented the point knowing full well that Ichigo couldn't just go around using quincy powers he shouldn't be able to use yet. More surprisingly even his trigger happy zanpakuto spirit agreed.

"Yeah, unless were ascending, people like Aizen are going to be difficult in a close up fight."

"Aren't you supposed to be all for going in head first?"

Zangetsu actually had the nerve to look at Ichigo like he was stupid, as if thinking that he and Zaraki were alike was so strange.

"Of course I'm all for going in head first, I'm your instinct! Which also means survival and going up against someone like Aizen head first is suicidal without your full power."

Putting the fact that Zangetsu made a good argument aside Ichigo focused on the second part of his statement.

"Yhwach's not holding you back so why can't you use your full power?"

"All real zanpakuto are made with asauchi idiot. Even if I'm not being held back your still left with a makeshift zanpakuto and without an asauchi you can't focus your quincy powers into one either."

So he only had one blade and a weakened one at that? Well it wasn't ideal but not a huge problem either. He wanted to learn kido regardless. It wasn't like he was in this alone anyway.

Yhwach's gaze had been on Ichigo the entire time and he was visibly pleased that Ichigo wasn't despairing just because something wasn't going his way.

"More importantly you will need to tell Urahara that your shinigami powers have changed before he notices himself. We must make this seem like you had nothing to do with it."

"Right I'll take care of that first thing tomorrow."

Yhwach gave him a look that conveyed the word 'sorry' in his mind for some reason.

"It is tomorrow Ichigo, a new day starts now. With all the most pressing concerns taken care of you can sleep again tonight."

Well, today was going to be a tiresome one, hopefully only his exhaustion and lack of sleep would be the cause of it.

 **XXX**

"We cannot ignore this any longer."

His eyes were shaded by his hat but both Tessai and Yoruichi could read his emotions clearly.

Ichigo was up to something, what he didn't know and that made things all the more pressing.

The hogyoku's interest in Ichigo was worrying enough but a late night visit to an old apartment complex with high-end keycard security and an unknown trap system was too much.

Yoruichi had been unable to either identify the nature or the function of the trap that was placed in front of the door. With the timing of its placement after Ichigo entered it was likely that she had either been found out or that Ichigo and his companions were very careful. Both were bad.

The hogyoku was too important for these kinds of secrets. He'd let Ichigo explain himself first but if the wrong explanation or lack thereof turned up.

"I'll leave Ichigo a message to come see me again about his powers. He must at least feel that something is wrong and won't pass up the chance for help or either to question how I knew."

Urahara's head inched upwards just enough to show the seriousness in his eyes.

"Tessai, restrain him if he refuses to cooperate. If that fails and I can't hold him for any reason."

A heavy and mournful silence followed, one that only an assassin of the onmitsukido was able to interpret.

Yoruichi's own silence carried her answer.

Either way he was getting closure today.

Urahara had been ignored for too long.

* * *

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